Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Institute of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2021 Sep 20;16(9):e0257547. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257547. eCollection 2021.
Previous studies found that metamemory beliefs dominate the font size effect on judgments of learning (JOLs). However, few studies have investigated whether beliefs about font size contribute to the font size effect in circumstances of multiple cues. The current study aims to fill this gap. Experiment 1 adopted a 2 (font size: 70 pt vs. 9 pt) * 2 (word frequency (WF): high vs. low) within-subjects design. The results showed that beliefs about font size did not mediate the font size effect on JOLs when multiple cues (font size and WF) were simultaneously provided. Experiment 2 further explored whether WF moderates the contribution of beliefs about font size to the font size effect, in which a 2 (font size: 70 pt vs. 9 pt, as a within-subjects factor) * 2 (WF: high vs. low, as a between-subjects factor) mixed design was used. The results showed that the contribution of beliefs about font size to the font size effect was present in a pure list of low-frequency words, but absent in a pure list of high-frequency words. Lastly, a meta-analysis showed evidence supporting the proposal that the contribution of beliefs about font size to the font size effect on JOLs is moderated by WF. Even though numerous studies suggested beliefs about font size play a dominant role in the font size effect on JOLs, the current study provides new evidence suggesting that such contribution is conditional. Theoretical implications are discussed.
先前的研究发现，元记忆信念主导着字号大小对学习判断（JOL）的影响。然而，很少有研究探讨在多线索的情况下，对字号的信念是否会影响字号大小效应。本研究旨在填补这一空白。实验 1 采用 2（字号：70 磅与 9 磅）*2（词频（WF）：高与低）被试内设计。结果表明，当同时提供多个线索（字号和 WF）时，对字号的信念并不能中介字号大小对 JOL 的影响。实验 2 进一步探讨了 WF 是否调节对字号的信念对字号大小效应的贡献，其中采用了 2（字号：70 磅与 9 磅，作为被试内因素）*2（WF：高与低，作为被试间因素）混合设计。结果表明，对字号的信念对字号大小效应的贡献仅存在于低频词的纯词列表中，而在高频词的纯词列表中则不存在。最后，一项元分析提供了支持这样的假设的证据，即对字号的信念对 JOL 上的字号大小效应的贡献受到 WF 的调节。尽管许多研究表明对字号的信念在 JOL 上的字号大小效应中起着主导作用，但本研究提供了新的证据表明，这种贡献是有条件的。讨论了理论意义。
