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ERIC Number: EJ1039284
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Sep
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1696-2095
EISSN: N/A
Differences between Functional and Subjective Overconfidence in Postdiction Judgments of Test Performance
Shake, Matthew C.; Shulley, Leah J.
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, v12 n2 p263-282 Sep 2014
Introduction: Recent research has shown that students tend to be overconfident when judging future performance on coursework, particularly students with lower academic ability. Some research suggests that these lower performing students are "doubly cursed" in that they are not only less capable of assessing their own performance, but also unaware of their own metacognitive deficits. In contrast, other research has suggested that while low performers are less capable, they are quite aware of that deficit. The present study investigated this issue in the context of judgments made about "past" performance (i.e., "postdictions") on tests. Method: One hundred thirty participants from an Introductory Psychology university class completed postdiction judgments of performance and confidence after three exams. Analyses of variance were used to compare low versus high-performing students. Results: Findings showed that low performing students were more likely to overestimate their past ten performance, but were also less subjectively confident in the accuracy of those postdiction judgments. Additionally, while the tendency to overestimate past performance did not improve across multiple tests for the low performers, subjective confidence in those postdictions did, such that performers became slightly more confident in their postdictions over time. Discussion and conclusion: This research highlights the fact that low performing students are not good at assessing performance, even over repeated testing. While they seem to be aware of their poor metacognitive judgement, their confidence in those judgments may increase over time. These results and their implications for educators and for theories of metacognitive awareness are discussed.
University of Almeria, Education & Psychology I+D+i. Faculty of Psychology Department of Educational and Developmental Psychology, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 LaCanada de San Urbano, Almeria, Spain. Tel: +34-950-015354; Fax: +34-950-015083; Web site: http://www.investigacion-psicopedagogica.org/revista/new/english/presentacion.php
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A