The Font-Size Effect on Judgments of Learning: A Perceptual Contrast Account

摘要: The font-size effect on judgments of learning (JOLs) refers to that when required to predict memory performance during the study phase, participants believe that large font words are more memorable than small ones. This study proposed a perceptual contrast account to explain this effect. In Experiment 1, perceptual contrast was achieved by inserting a word with a different font (e.g., 18-pt word) into a sequence of words with the same font (e.g., 70-pt words) at a certain frequency. In Experiment 2, perceptual contrast was manipulated by presenting two different font words up and down in a pair. The results showed that: (1) a low rate of perceptual contrast as small as 25% could lead to the font-size effect on JOLs; (2) compared with the same font words with and without contrast, perceptual contrast reduced the JOLs of small ones but did not affect the JOLs of large ones. Perceptual contrast account can explain the font-size effect on JOLs that can be explained by the fluency theory and belief theory. It is also applicable to research exploring how other perceptual cues affect JOLs, e.g., number of presentations, difficulty, relatedness, and clarity.