The Self-Reference Effect in Metamemory and the Role of Beliefs in This Process

Abstract

Previous research has shown a clear self-reference effect in our memory. However, the question arises as to whether this effect could extend to higher cognitive domains such as metamemory. Thus, this study examined the effects of different encoding types on judgments of learning (JOLs) and explored the role of beliefs in this process. A one-way (encoding type: semantic, self-referential) within-participants design was employed in Experiment 1, which found no self-reference effect in JOLs. In Experiment 2, we manipulated participants' beliefs to explore their effect on JOLs under different encoding strategies. The results showed that learners' metamemory beliefs about encoding types influence JOLs. Learners who believed that self-referential and semantic encoding had the same memory effect tended to give equal JOLs to both words. However, learners who believed that self-referential encoding had a better memory effect than semantic encoding gave higher JOLs to self-referentially encoded words. The conclusions are as follows: There is no self-reference effect in JOLs, but learners' metamemory beliefs about encoding types influence JOLs.

Keywords: judgments of learning; metamemory; metamemory beliefs; self-referential encoding; semantic encoding.

Figure 1

Procedures of the learning phase in Experiment 1.

Figure 2

(a) Recall performance for each encoding type for Experiment 1; (b) JOLs for each encoding type for Experiment 1. ***: p < 0.001. The error bars are confidence intervals.

Figure 3

(a) Recall performance for each encoding type and belief for Experiment 2; (b) JOLs for each encoding type and belief for Experiment 2. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01. The error bars are confidence intervals.