The Effect of Generalized Metacognitive Knowledge on Test Performance and Confidence Judgments

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the basis of students' confidence in their answers to test items. The domain-specific hypothesis predicts that confidence judgments will be related to performance on a particular test, but not to confidence judgments or performance on unrelated tests. In contrast, the domain-general hypothesis predicts that confidence judgments will be related not only to performance on a particular test but also to confidence judgments and performance on unrelated tests. The results of the present study support the domain-general hypothesis. The results of other data analyses suggest that the domain-general nature of confidence judgments may be attributable to generalized metacognitive knowledge.