Metacognition for well-learned information

The current study investigated the effects of criterion learning and lag on metacognitive accuracy and memory performance. Forty-six participants (27 female) aged between 18-63 years studied lists of Lithuanian-English word pairs presented in either groups of nine (short lag) or 36 items (long lag). Participants engaged in practice testing for the items until they were correctly recalled one, three, or nine times. Participants made judgments of learning regarding the likelihood they would remember the item in about 7 days, where they would engage in a cued recall task. Judgements were recorded on either binary or continuous scales. Absolute accuracy was greater for the long lag compared to short lag (p < .001), which led to substantial overconfidence in the short lag (p < .001). Relative accuracy was superior in the long lag compared to the short lag (p < .001). Final cued recall performance was higher in the long lag and as criterion increased. These findings suggest students' memory performance will benefit from the repeated successful recall of information. Crucially, if students employ a longer lag, not only will their memory be enhanced but they will likely display superior metacognitive monitoring of their learning.