Do age-related differences in episodic feeling of knowing accuracy depend on the timing of the judgement?

Abstract

The current study investigated whether there were age-related differences in episodic feeling-of-knowing (FOK) accuracy and whether accuracy was influenced by when the FOK judgements were made. Younger and older participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions that manipulated the timing of the FOK in relation to cued recall and associative recognition. Age-related differences in FOK accuracy were not reliable either when the FOK was immediate or when it was delayed. Moreover, FOK accuracy was above chance for both age groups. Remember/Know (RK) judgements correlated reliably with FOKs for unrecalled words for both age groups and did not vary by FOK timing. The invariance in FOK accuracy occurred despite robust age differences in associative cued recall and associative recognition, as well as age differences in recollection as measured by RK judgements. The findings are inconsistent with the argument that there is a general age deficit in episodic FOK accuracy. Possible reasons for discrepant findings in the literature are discussed.