Making judgments of learning (JOLs) for oneself versus others: A review and proposed model

A judgment of learning (JOL) refers to an individual's evaluation and prediction of their own learning. Converging evidence suggests that making JOLs is an inferential process, with individuals basing their judgments on a variety of cues that may or may not be diagnostic of future performance. Compared to such JOLs for oneself, considerably less is known about making JOLs for others, but the existing evidence on this topic also supports an inferential-based process. Importantly, although there appears to be substantial overlap regarding the cues used to inform both types of judgments, there are likely cues utilized when forming JOLs for others that are not used when making JOLs for oneself. In the current article, we (1) review the extant literature on JOLs for oneself to understand the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of such judgments; (2) review existing literature regarding JOLs for others, highlighting the similarities and differences between these judgments and those made for oneself; and (3) propose a new model, adapted from Koriat's (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 126 (4), 349-370, Koriat, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 126:349-370, 1997) cue-utilization framework, to describe how JOLs for others are made. Our new model provides a substantial theoretical contribution to the literature that can inform both basic and applied research focusing on JOLs for others.