The effect of theories of intelligence on immediate and delayed JOLs

This study investigated the effect of individual’s theory of intelligence (TOI) on resolution between judgements of learning (JOLs) and recall. JOLs are predictions of future memory and can differ due to TOIs being more fixed (entity) or malleable (incremental). Fifty-eight participants (39 females; mean age 24 years) viewed Indonesian-English word pairs providing immediate and delayed JOLs before final recall. Dwecks (1999) Theories of Intelligence Scale –Self form for Adults assessed participants TOI. The results did not support the hypotheses that resolution for immediate JOLs would be better for entity than incremental theorists, and this difference would be smaller for delayed JOLs. Consistent with the delayed JOL effect resolution was found to be higher when JOLs were delayed (p<.001). A difficulty x TOI interaction was identified whereby resolution for incremental theorists was highest for moderate and difficult word pairs, while for entity theorists resolution was best for easy pairs (p=.023). It was concluded that resolution did not differ between entity and incremental theorists for immediate and delayed JOLs, suggesting there is no inaccuracy in JOLs for incremental theorists. Delayed JOLs, however, were more accurate overall. Further research is necessary to identify if these JOLs affect study behaviour in more ecological settings