The Role of Extrinsic Cues in Metamemory Illusions

Koriat’s (1997) cue-utilization framework holds that judgments of learning (JOLs) are based on separate contributions from intrinsic (pertaining to a study item) and extrinsic (pertaining to features outside a study item) cues. To date, varying physical features of to-be-remembered words such as size (Rhodes & Castel, 2008) or blur (Yue, Castel, & Bjork, 2013)—which are intrinsic cues—has produced illusions in which one type of word receives higher JOLs without being recalled better. The role of similar manipulations to context—which are extrinsic cues—has not yet been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to explore how these cues would influence JOLs. In Experiment 1, participants studied and gave JOLs for words that varied in size (intrinsic cues) surrounded by task-irrelevant, colored frames that also varied in size (extrinsic cues). In Experiment 2, participants did the same for words that varied in their degree of blur (intrinsic cues) surrounded by task-irrelevant, nature scenes that also varied in their degree of blur (extrinsic cues). Thus, these extrinsic cues provided context for the intrinsic cues. The typical JOL illusions were replicated with intrinsic cues, but they were unusually small. Also, a JOL illusion emerged with the extrinsic cue manipulation in Experiment 2, but not in Experiment 1, possibly because the extrinsic cues in Experiment 2 were more salient with the inclusion of nature scenes rather than solid colors (Castel, 2008). Moreover, Experiments 3a and 3b suggested that it was the inclusion of extrinsic cue manipulations in Experiments 1 and 2 which reduced the illusions based on intrinsic cue manipulations. These results suggest that extrinsic cues may indirectly affect JOLs by influencing participants’ use of intrinsic cues. This finding is not fully explainable by the current cue-utilization framework (Koriat, 1997).