Metamemory awareness refers to the ability to monitor and control how
well information is processed depending on the loads and needs of the task
at hand. There is some evidence that metamemory functions are impaired in
schizophrenia at the time of memory retrieval. This study investigated
whether patients with schizophrenia exhibit metamemory abnormalities
during the encoding of new information. The frequency of item presentation
was varied. Both memory control and memory monitoring were assessed using
study-time allocation and Judgments of Learning (JOL), respectively.
Repeated items were recalled better by both groups, but memory performance
was lower in patients than controls. Patients' behavior patterns were
abnormal in terms of the study-time allocated for each item according to
presentation frequency. Patients' JOLs were lower than those of
controls but remained sensitive to item repetition. Patients'
predictive values on memory accuracy were no different to those measured
in controls. In addition, none of the patients reported using efficient
strategies to help memorize target items. The results show a dissociation
between memory control, which was impaired, and memory monitoring, which
was spared, in patients with schizophrenia during encoding of new
information (JINS, 2007, 13, 219–227.)