Confident or Familiar? The Role of Familiarity Ratings in Adults’ Confidence Judgements When Estimating Fraction Magnitudes

Charles J. Fitzsimmons; C. A. Thompson; P. Sidney

doi:10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9

Confident or Familiar? The Role of Familiarity Ratings in Adults’ Confidence Judgements When Estimating Fraction Magnitudes

Charles J. Fitzsimmons, C. A. Thompson, P. Sidney

Kent State University: Kent, OH

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Understanding fraction magnitudes is especially important in daily life, but fraction reasoning is quite difficult. To accurately reason about fraction magnitudes, adults need to monitor what they know and what they do not know. However, little is known about which cues adults use to monitor fraction performance. Across two studies, we examined adults’ trial-by-trial fraction estimates, confidence judgments, and ratings of fraction familiarity. Adults were more confident when their estimates were more precise as well as when estimating fractions they rated as more familiar. However, adults judged their confidence in estimating fraction magnitudes, in part, based on their familiarity with each fraction. The role familiarity cues play in judgments of confidence with fractions suggests that people may be less likely to check for errors when reasoning about highly-familiar fractions.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	215-231
Number of pages	17
Journal	Metacognition and Learning
Volume	15
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9
State	Published - Jan 1 2020
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Fractions
Metacognition
Cofidence judgments
Whole number bias
Familiarity
Cue utilization

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences
Psychology

Access to Document

10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9License: CC BY

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9

Cite this

@article{6c248e7eac054f718578a964f196dcf5,

title = "Confident or Familiar? The Role of Familiarity Ratings in Adults{\textquoteright} Confidence Judgements When Estimating Fraction Magnitudes",

abstract = " Understanding fraction magnitudes is especially important in daily life, but fraction reasoning is quite difficult. To accurately reason about fraction magnitudes, adults need to monitor what they know and what they do not know. However, little is known about which cues adults use to monitor fraction performance. Across two studies, we examined adults{\textquoteright} trial-by-trial fraction estimates, confidence judgments, and ratings of fraction familiarity. Adults were more confident when their estimates were more precise as well as when estimating fractions they rated as more familiar. However, adults judged their confidence in estimating fraction magnitudes, in part, based on their familiarity with each fraction. The role familiarity cues play in judgments of confidence with fractions suggests that people may be less likely to check for errors when reasoning about highly-familiar fractions. ",

keywords = "Fractions, Metacognition, Cofidence judgments, Whole number bias, Familiarity, Cue utilization",

author = "Fitzsimmons, {Charles J.} and Thompson, {C. A.} and P. Sidney",

note = "Fitzsimmons, C.J., Thompson, C.A. & Sidney, P.G. Confident or familiar? The role of familiarity ratings in adults{\textquoteright} confidence judgments when estimating fraction magnitudes. Metacognition Learning 15, 215–231 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9",

year = "2020",

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doi = "10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9",

language = "American English",

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T1 - Confident or Familiar? The Role of Familiarity Ratings in Adults’ Confidence Judgements When Estimating Fraction Magnitudes

AU - Fitzsimmons, Charles J.

AU - Thompson, C. A.

AU - Sidney, P.

N1 - Fitzsimmons, C.J., Thompson, C.A. & Sidney, P.G. Confident or familiar? The role of familiarity ratings in adults’ confidence judgments when estimating fraction magnitudes. Metacognition Learning 15, 215–231 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9

PY - 2020/1/1

Y1 - 2020/1/1

N2 - Understanding fraction magnitudes is especially important in daily life, but fraction reasoning is quite difficult. To accurately reason about fraction magnitudes, adults need to monitor what they know and what they do not know. However, little is known about which cues adults use to monitor fraction performance. Across two studies, we examined adults’ trial-by-trial fraction estimates, confidence judgments, and ratings of fraction familiarity. Adults were more confident when their estimates were more precise as well as when estimating fractions they rated as more familiar. However, adults judged their confidence in estimating fraction magnitudes, in part, based on their familiarity with each fraction. The role familiarity cues play in judgments of confidence with fractions suggests that people may be less likely to check for errors when reasoning about highly-familiar fractions.

AB - Understanding fraction magnitudes is especially important in daily life, but fraction reasoning is quite difficult. To accurately reason about fraction magnitudes, adults need to monitor what they know and what they do not know. However, little is known about which cues adults use to monitor fraction performance. Across two studies, we examined adults’ trial-by-trial fraction estimates, confidence judgments, and ratings of fraction familiarity. Adults were more confident when their estimates were more precise as well as when estimating fractions they rated as more familiar. However, adults judged their confidence in estimating fraction magnitudes, in part, based on their familiarity with each fraction. The role familiarity cues play in judgments of confidence with fractions suggests that people may be less likely to check for errors when reasoning about highly-familiar fractions.

KW - Fractions

KW - Metacognition

KW - Cofidence judgments

KW - Whole number bias

KW - Familiarity

KW - Cue utilization

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DO - 10.1007/s11409-020-09225-9

M3 - Article

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JO - Metacognition and Learning

JF - Metacognition and Learning

ER -