How to assess the contributions of processing fluency and beliefs to the formation of judgments of learning: methods and pitfalls

Judgments of learning (JOLs) play a fundamental role in helping learners regulate their study strategies but are susceptible to various kinds of illusions and biases. These can potentially impair learning efficiency, and hence understanding the mechanisms underlying the formation of JOLs is important. Many studies have suggested that both processing fluency and metamemory beliefs can contribute substantially to the construction of JOLs. However, in recent years another body of evidence has accumulated apparently demonstrating that beliefs play a dominant role, whereas processing fluency plays little or even no role in JOL formation. In the current article, we review the experimental and analytic methods employed in this field to measure the contributions of processing fluency and beliefs to the formation of JOLs. We then illustrate several potential disadvantages and pitfalls of those research methods. Suggestions about how to solve or avoid such problems are discussed. We make several proposals for future research to shed additional light on the illusions and biases that have been documented in JOLs.