The Role of Processing Fluency in Source Memory and Metamemory

Processing fluency influences various judgements in memory and cognition such as fluency-based familiarity in tests of item recognition memory. However, less is known about the interplay between fluency and source information in recognition memory and metamemory phenomena. The present thesis investigated the relationship between perceptual fluency and the accuracy of source memory decisions (Experiments 1-3b), as well as the contribution of perceptual fluency to the font size effect (i.e., the tendency to rate larger font words as easier to remember than smaller font words, despite font size having no effect on retention performance) in judgements of learning (Experiments 4-6). Fluency was indexed via identification response times (RTs) derived from adapted versions of the continuous identification (CID) task, in which stimuli gradually clarified through progressive demasking. Identification RTs were faster in trials with correct retrieval of source information compared to trials for which source could not be accurately retrieved, and JOLs were indirectly increased by the faster identification RTs associated with a larger font size. These findings suggest that fluency is related both to source memory and metamemory judgements