FEELING-OF-KNOWING JUDGMENTS FROM THE SUBJECTS PERSPECTIVE

We examined the manner in which subjects interpret experimenter-provid ed feeling-of-knowing (FOK) definitions. The original FOK definition p roposed by Hart (1965) is a composite of two criteria: (1) A feeling t hat the sought-after information is known and (2) a feeling that the s ought-after information can be correctly identified on a later criteri on test. We hypothesized that subjects may use one or both of these cr iteria in reporting FOK states. We found that Goodman-Kruskal gamma co rrelations (Goodman & Kruskal, 1954) were substantially larger when su bjects attended to the predictive aspect of FOK definitions relative t o subjects who assessed what they believed they knew. We argue that FO Ks are more accurate when task-relevant information is incorporated in to the judgment. Finally, these data weaken a cue-familiarity interpre tation of the FOK phenomenon.