RESULTS Aging and the Effects of Metacognitive Judgments on Memory Performance Participants

In the “judgment of learning ” (JOL) paradigm, learners estimate their current level of learning on each study trial. Some have suggested that this type of metacognitive control is itself resource-consuming so that monitoring may draw attention away from the cognitive processes that support performance (Dunlosky & Thiede, 2004; Thiede & Dunlosky, 1999). We examined age differences in the effects of making JOLs on learning efficiency as subjects read sentences (e.g., Miles & Stine-Morrow, 2004). If memory monitoring is resource-consuming, then participants who make JOLs should show reduced efficiency in learning relative to controls. Given that older adults show declines in fluid abilities, their learning may be more negatively impacted by memory monitoring relative to younger adults. Assuming that a goal of high recall accuracy (relative to low recall accuracy) is especially taxing for controlled processing, these effects of judgment type and age may be exaggerated when goal stringency is increased. Younger and older adults read 36 18-word sentences about topics in nature, science, and history, in a self-paced fashion on a computer so that reading time could be measured. Sentences varied in propositional density, including 12 “low density ” sentences (5-7 propositions), 12 “medium density” sentences (8 propositions), and 12 “high density ” sentences (9-10 propositions). Each sentence was followed by a second “filler ” sentence, related to the first, which ensured accurate estimates of encoding time for the first sentence