The effect of time pressure on metacognitive control: developmental changes in self-regulation and efficiency during learning

The effect of time pressure on metacognitive control is of theoretical and empirical relevance and is likely to allow us to tap into developmental differences in performances which do not become apparent otherwise, as previous studies suggest. In the present study, we investigated the effect of time pressure on metacognitive control in three age groups (10-year-olds, 14-year-olds, and adults, n = 183). Using an established study time allocation paradigm, participants had to study two different sets of picture pairs, in an untimed and a timed condition. The results showed that metacognitive self-regulation of study time (monitor-based study time allocation) differed between age groups when studying under time pressure. Even though metacognitive control is firmly coupled at 10 years of age, the overall level of self-regulation of adults was higher than that of children and adolescents across both study time conditions. This suggests that adults might have been more sensitive to experiential metacognitive cues such as JoL for the control of study time. Moreover, the timed condition was found to be more effective than the untimed, with regard to study time allocation. Also, there was an age effect, with adults being more efficient than 10- and 14-year-olds.

Second Chances in Learning: Does a Resit Prospect Lower Study-Time Investments on a First Test?

Previous studies have shown that the prospect of a resit opportunity lowers fictional study-time investments for a first exam, as compared to a single-chance exam (i.e., the resit effect). The present paper describes two experiments in which we aimed to generalize this effect from fictional study-time investments to a task where participants invested real time to study pairs of pseudo words for a subsequent multiple-choice test, given either a single chance or two chances to pass. Against our expectations based on previous results, the results of the current experiments showed no resit effect for the amount of time participants spent studying the materials. Taken together with previous findings and novel findings from a questionnaire study also reported in this paper, this finding leads us to argue that a resit prospect may primarily affect advance study-time allocation decisions.

An Examination of Study Time Allocation as a Contributor to Sex Differences in Multitrial Verbal Learning Performance

Researchers have noted sex differences in verbal memory performance with females showing a memory superiority effect. Research paradigms have largely incorporated experimenter-timed materials. Therefore, the extent to which self-regulating study time influences this pattern of sex differences is unclear. The researcher reexamined data from a published paper to determine whether sex differences in multitrial verbal learning are minimized when individuals self-regulate their study time, or if sex differences would still remain. The results from this study showed that females outperformed males on subsequent test trials, and they allocated more study time. Controlling for the influence of study time allocation reduced or eliminated sex differences in memory performance, and only study time allocation was related to whether items were gained or lost across trials. These findings suggest the importance of self-regulated learning in reducing sex differences on a verbal memory task and the contribution of study time allocation to memory performance.

(Pretty) Lady First: Effects of Mate-Related Motives on the Item-Selection Orders of Faces With Varying Attractiveness

Evolutionary theories suggest that fundamental mating-related motives might exert specific effects on human cognition and behaviors. Based on the evolutionary perspective, our prior research illustrated that the activation of mating-related motives leads to a study-time allocation bias toward highly attractive female faces. While study-time allocation is one of the aspects of the self-regulated learning process, it is unclear whether mating motives affect study decision behaviors (as measured by item-selection orders) during the learning process. Therefore, the present study followed the logic of previous research and aimed to examine the effects of mating-related motives on item-selection orders for face–name associations among faces with varying attractiveness. In two experiments, after an imagery procedure, participants in mating-related priming conditions (Experiment 1: mate search, Experiment 2: mate guarding) or control conditions performed an item-selection task. Participants were shown 16 female faces with varying attractiveness on a computer screen and were instructed to decide the order for studying the faces and corresponding names. Experiment 1 showed that activating mate-search motives led male participants to prioritize the choice of highly attractive rather than less attractive faces for studying. In Experiment 2, compared to the participants in the control condition, female participants in the mate-guarding priming condition were more likely to prioritize the choice of highly attractive rather than less attractive faces for studying. The present findings clarify that mating-related motives affect the item-selection prioritization of faces with varying attractiveness.

Study Time Allocation, Retrospective Confidence, Gender, and Recall Performance: Does MemorySelf-Efficacy Matter?

We examined factors associated with self-regulated learning in a multitrial verbal learning task. Eighty males and 80 females (ages 18–25 years) completed a memory self-efficacy (MSE) questionnaire before being administered a Swahili-English memory task, in which participants received an unlimited amount of time to study each translation and complete cued recall tests across three study-test trials. We hypothesized that MSE, gender, and subsequent study time allocation (STA) based on prior recall performance and retrospective confidence judgments (RCJs) would be related to memory performance. There were gender differences in recall rates on subsequent trials, but no other gender effects were observed. Our results suggested that general beliefs about memory capabilities (MSE), control processes (STA), and monitoring processes (RCJs) are related to recall performance in a multitrial self-regulated learning task, and that the influence of these variables differs by recall trial and whether individuals are in more extreme MSE groups.