Metacognitive Judgments in a Simulated Luggage Screening Task

A pair of experiments examined the accuracy and potential role of predictive metacognitive judgments in a simulated baggage screening task. Procedure was modeled after the ease-of-learning task (Underwood, 1966). Subjects searched for knives hidden in x-ray images of passenger bags. Before performing the search task, subjects viewed each stimulus without the embedded target and rated the likelihood of finding the target if it was hidden in that image. Experiment 1 used a 2IFC search task. Experiment 2 used a speeded yes-no search procedure. Results suggest that predictive metacognitive judgments are only modestly accurate, but that the information on which such judgments are based is nonetheless used to regulate search behavior

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