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We examined the effects of demand characteristics on the frequency and accuracy of reported feeling-of-knowing (FOK) and tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states. In two experiments, self-presentational demands were manipulated using instructions that led subjects to expect either easy-to-answer questions (highdemand condition) or difficult-to-answer questions (low-demand condition). For unanswered questions, subjects were asked to report whether they were in a TOT state (Experiment 1) or a FOK state (Experiment 2). Results revealed that the self-presentation manipulation affected the frequency of reported TOTs but had no effect on the frequency of reported FOKs, nor was there an effect on the accuracy of reported TOTs and FOKs. The present findings support an explanation of these phenomena that stresses the role of inferential mechanisms in making TOT and FOK judgments.
When information is not initially retrieved from memory, one's feeling-of-knowing (FOK) for the unrecalled knowledge might reflect partial access to a momentarily inaccessible memory trace. On the other hand, FOKs may reflect the effects of various inferential mechanisms (e.g., Nelson, Gerler, & Narens, 1984; Schwartz & Metcalfe, 1992). Plausible inferential mechanisms that may elicit FOK reports include recognition of the cue, expertise on the topic, and social desirability (Nelson et al., 1984).
The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon (e.g., Brown & McNeill, 1966), like the FOK, is a subjective report that reflects metacognitive monitoring, in this case referring to the unrecalled knowledge whose retrieval seems imminent. The two major theories that account for TOT reports are the incomplete activation theory (e.g., A. Brown, 1991) and the blocking theory (e.g., Jones, 1989). Both of these theories assume that trace access mechanisms are responsible for TOT experiences. It may be, however, that some TOT reports, like FOK reports, are due to inferential mechanisms, rather than to trace access (e.g., Metcalfe, Schwartz, &Joaquim, 1993; Smith, 1994).
The present research investigated the hypothesis that the demand characteristics of an experiment influence patterns of reported TOTs and FOKs. From a subject's perspective, failures to answer experimenterprovided test questions may generate feelings of inadequacy, particularly when the experimenter is observing. To avoid appearing incompetent, subjects may report TOTs and FOKs rather than admitting that they do not know the answers. Anecdotal observations from prior TOT and FOK studies conducted in our laboratory corroborate this hypothesis. Subjects frequently commented...