Making Judgments of Learning Increases Restudy Choices: Evidence for Reactivity in Metacognitive Control

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Abstract
An emerging body of research has shown that requiring participants to make concurrent JOLs during learning can reactively influence memory performance, a phenomenon known as the reactivity effect. However, it remains unclear whether making JOLs can also reactively alter metacognitive control. The present study addressed this question across three types of materials: unrelated word pairs, general knowledge questions, and related word pairs. After studying each item, participants decided whether they would choose to restudy it. In JOL conditions, participants made an item-by-item JOL during learning, while in no-JOL conditions, no such judgment was required. Across all materials, making JOLs reliably increased the proportion of items selected for restudy, indicating a robust reactivity effect on metacognitive control. These findings suggest that JOL reactivity should be considered not only in relation to memory performance but also in relation to metacognitive control.
Funding Information
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (32400872)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (32400873)
  • Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (2025-BS-0764)
  • Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (2025-BS-0766)
  • Humanities and Social Sciences Research Program of the Ministry of Education of China (25YJC190020)

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