Self and observer predictions of memory performance in a brain-damaged sample.
The present study examined the ability of 23 brain-damaged patients and outside observers (i.e., close friends or relatives) to predict the patients' performance on standard clinical tests of memory. Several tests of verbal and nonverbal memory were specifically described in a questionnaire and subjects were asked to estimate upcoming performance. Individual subject factors were correlated with overall prediction accuracy and specific predictions were correlated with memory performance across each test. Individual differences, including memory ability, did not significantly influence the findings consistent with the view that memory and metamemory reflect independent variables. Although correlations obtained from the outside observers overall were higher and more often statistically significant, both patients and observers often made comparable predictions of the patients' task performance suggesting brain-damaged patients have some ability to make accurate self-assessments.
Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA 30030, USA.
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Cooley
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Stringer