Word frequency effects on judgments of learning: more than just beliefs

Abstract

Judgments of learning (JOLs) are usually higher for high-frequency words than for low-frequency words, which has been attributed to beliefs about how word frequency affects memory. The main goal of the present study was to explore if identifying word frequency as a relevant cue is necessary for it to affect JOLs. The idea is that for one to base judgments in beliefs of how a variable affects memory, one must first consider that variable. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants studied a list of high- and low-frequency words, made immediate JOLs, and answered questions aimed at identifying the cues used to make those JOLs. The results showed that identifying word frequency as a cue was not necessary for effects on JOLs to occur, suggesting that some participants could not have used beliefs about how word frequency affects memory when making JOLs. In Experiment 3, we measured processing fluency of high- and low-frequency words through a lexical decision task. Participants identified high-frequency words quicker than low-frequency words, suggesting the former to be more fluently processed. In Experiment 4, we explored if response times in a lexical decision task mediated the effect of word frequency on JOLs. Results showed a significant mediation of 8-13%, depending on the analysis technique. We argue that theory-driven processes do not fully account for word frequency effects on JOLs.