Metacognitive and control strategies in study-time allocation

This article investigates how people's metacognitive judgments influence su bsequent study-time-allocation strategies. The authors present a comprehens ive literature review indicating that people allocate more study time to ju dged-difficult than to judged-easy items-consistent with extant models of s tudy-time allocation. However, typically, the materials were short, and par ticipants had ample time for study. In contrast, in Experiment 1, when part icipants had insufficient time to study, they allocated more time to the ju dged-easy items than to the judged-difficult items, especially when expecti ng a test. In Experiment 2, when the materials were shorter, people allocat ed more study time to the judged-difficult materials. In Experiment 3, unde r high time pressure, people preferred studying judged-easy sonnets; under moderate time pressure, they showed no preference. These results provide ne w evidence against extant theories of study-time allocation.