Abstract
Recently, there has been a growing interest in the effect of perceptual features of learning materials on adults’ memory and metamemory. Previous studies consistently have found that adults use font size as a cue when monitoring their learning, judging that they will remember large font size words better than small font size words. Most studies have not demonstrated a significant effect of font size on adults’ memory, but a recent meta-analysis of these studies revealed a subtle memory advantage for large font words. The current study extended this investigation to elementary school children. First and fifth–sixth graders studied words for a free recall test presented in either large or small font and made judgments of learning (JOLs) for each word. As did adults, children predicted they would remember large font size words better than small font size words and, in fact, actually remembered the large font size words better. No differences were observed between the two age groups in the effect of font size on memory or metamemory. These results suggest that the use of font size as a cue when monitoring one’s own learning is robust across the life span and, further, that this cue has at least some validity.
Highlights
To self-regulate learning effectively, learners need to accurately judge the extent to which the studied information has far been learned
Textual materials can be presented in formats that are more perceptually clear in terms of font size, type, and contrast (e.g., 12-point black Times New Roman font on a white background) or in formats that are more perceptually degraded
Font Size Effects in Children studies (French et al, 2013; Katzir et al, 2013; Miele et al, 2013) examined the effect of perceptual features on children’s comprehension and recall of texts, in the current research we focused on memory for isolated words
Summary
To self-regulate learning effectively, learners need to accurately judge the extent to which the studied information has far been learned. Judgments of learning (JOLs; Rhodes, 2016) are predictive of learning only when they rely on cues that are predictive of learning. One set of cues for JOLs that has received recent attention involve the perceptual features of textual materials. Textual materials can be presented in formats that are more perceptually clear in terms of font size, type, and contrast (e.g., 12-point black Times New Roman font on a white background) or in formats that are more perceptually degraded (e.g., nine-point gray Monotype Corsiva font on a white background). Recent studies have consistently demonstrated that adult learners use such perceptual features as a basis for self-judgments about memory, decision-making and reasoning (e.g., Rhodes and Castel, 2008; Alter and Oppenheimer, 2009; Yue et al, 2013; Pieger et al, 2016). Perceptually clear materials are judged to be better learned than perceptually degraded materials. There is inconsistency, regarding whether such perceptual features are predictive of learning
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