Learners accurately judge that twice-presented items are more likely to be recalled than once-presented items¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 1980 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Mean ratings of recall likelihood were significantly higher for twice-presented (DP) than once-presented (single) items, matching the direction of the recall advantage. → Zechmeister 1980

Evidence¶

Zechmeister 1980¶

Zechmeister, E. B., & Shaughnessy, J. J. (1980). When you know that you know and when you think that you know but you don't. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 15(1), 41-44. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03329756

q3 · i? · causal · r2

In the same 24-subject free recall experiment, subjects rated twice-presented items as more recallable than singles (overall means 4.23 DP and 4.57 MP vs. 3.25 single). The article states subjects "accurately assessed the probability of recall to be higher" for twice-presented items.

"A t test of the difference in mean ratings provided for DP and single items was statistically significant [t(23) = 4.06 , Sdiff = .25, P < .05] ."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Learners judge massed-presented items as more likely to be recalled than distributed-presented items, although their recall is worse — related
• Distributed presentations are recalled better than massed presentations in free recall (the spacing effect), and requiring likelihood ratings does not alter this effect — related
• Across item types, items given high recall-likelihood ratings are recalled with greater probability than items given lower ratings — related
• Items rated for recall likelihood are recalled at a higher overall level than nonrated items, though extra effective study time confounds this — related
• Preschool children benefit from repetition in free recall, recalling repeated pictures better than once-presented ones — related