Making Retrospective Confidence Judgments Improves Learners’ Ability to Decide What Not to Study

Predictions about future retrieval success, known as judgments of learning (JOLs), are often viewed as important for effective control over learning. However, much less is known about how retrospective confidence judgments (RCJs), evaluations of past retrieval success, may affect control over learning. We compared participants’ ability to identify items that would benefit from additional study after making either a JOL or an RCJ. Participants completed a cued-recall task in which they made a metacognitive judgment after an initial recall attempt and before making a restudy decision. Participants who made RCJs prior to their restudy decisions were more accurate at identifying items in need of being restudied, relative to participants who made JOLs. The results indicate that having participants assess their confidence in past retrieval success can nudge them toward better utilizing of valid information when deciding which items are in need of further study.