Metamemory(1)
Metamemory means knowing what you know, knowing how your
memory works, and being able to assess your own memory.
Answer the self-rating questions below to assess your own memory.
Jot down the rating values you would give yourself for each
question on a piece of paper. Then show the questionnaire to
a spouse/relative/close friend/colleague and ask him or her to
assess your memory, circling the appropriate rating values.
Now cross-check the two assessments and see how well they agree.
If they differ, try to work out why this might be.(2)
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(1) After Cohen, G., Eysenck, M., & LeVoi, M. (1986). Memory: A
Cognitive Approach Milton Keynes: Open
University Press.
(2) Some research shows that self-ratings correlate well with
assessments made by a spouse or relative. See Broadbent, D.,
Cooper, P., Fitzgerald, P., and Parkes, K. (1982). 'The
cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates',
British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 21, pp. 1-18.
Very Quite Very
often often Occasionally rarely Never
1.
How often do you forget appointments? 4 3 2 1 0
2.
How often do you want to tell a joke but find 4 3 2 1 0
you cannot remember it?
3.
How often do you forget people's names? 4 3 2 1 0
4.
When you go shopping, how often do you 4 3 2 1 0
forget items you intended to buy?
5.
How often do you forget the route to a 4 3 2 1 0
particular place?