Revelation effect in metamemory.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Metamemory Research

Background:

• The "revelation effect" suggests items are judged as previously studied if discovered before a recognition decision.
• Metamemory judgments, such as the feeling-of-knowing (FOK), reflect an individual's knowledge about their own memory.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether the revelation effect influences metamemory judgments, specifically the feeling-of-knowing.
• To examine how a "revelation task" impacts FOK ratings when recall is unsuccessful.

Main Methods:

• Participants studied word pairs and attempted recall using cues.
• A "revelation task" (gradually revealed target fragments or cue anagrams) preceded recall attempts for some items.
• Feeling-of-knowing (FOK) ratings were collected for unrecalled items.

Main Results:

• Higher FOK ratings were given for items subjected to a revelation task, irrespective of recall success.
• Analyses indicated a criterion shift in FOK judgments following the revelation task.
• No significant differences in memory sensitivity were observed.

Conclusions:

• The revelation effect extends to metamemory judgments, influencing feeling-of-knowing ratings.
• Pre-recall information discovery can alter subjective confidence in memory, even without improving actual recall performance.
• Findings suggest a shift in response criteria rather than enhanced memory sensitivity.