Does Word Frequency Influence Judgments of Learning (JOLs)? A Meta-Analytic Review

Although decades of research have identified robust effects of word frequency (WF) on memory performance, the comparatively smaller body of research examining the impact of WF on judgments of learning (JOLs) has yielded inconsistent findings. The purpose of this brief meta-analytic review is to synthesize the existing literature examining WF effects on JOLs with the aim of clarifying the extent to which such judgments are influenced by WF, and to identify some potential moderators of this effect. In analysing 17 experiments across 6 published and 1 unpublished studies, a small, but reliable effect of WF on JOLs was found (g = .23), with high frequency (HF) words afforded higher JOLs than low frequency (LF) words. There was, however, extensive heterogeneity among the effect sizes, implying that the WF effect on JOLs is subject to the influence of potentially many different moderator variables. The potential implications of this finding for understanding the sources of information that guide JOLs are discussed. In addition, speculation as to potential moderators contributing to the observed heterogeneity is offered, and emphasis is placed on the importance of considering item-level variability when items are nested within the conditions to be contrasted.