Does ADHD in Adults Affect the Relative Accuracy of Metamemory Judgments?

Objective: Prior research suggests that individuals with ADHD overestimate their performance across domains despite performing more poorly in these domains. The authors introduce measures of accuracy from the larger realm of judgment and decision making—namely, relative accuracy and calibration—to the study of self-evaluative judgment accuracy in adults with ADHD. Method: Twenty-eight adults with ADHD and 28 matched controls participate in a computer-administered paired-associate learning task and predict their future recall using immediate and delayed judgments of learning (JOLs). Retrospective confidence judgments are also collected. Results: Groups perform equally in terms of judgment magnitude and absolute judgment accuracy as measured by discrepancy scores and calibration curves. Both groups benefit equally from making their JOL at a delay, and the group with ADHD show higher relative accuracy for delayed judgments. Conclusion: Results suggest that under certain circumstances, adults with ADHD can make accurate judgments about their future memory.