Perceptual contrast reduces the judgments of learning of small-font words and increases the judgments of learning of large-font words compared with the no-contrast conditions.

The font-size effect on judgments of learning (JOLs) refers to large-font words being rated as more memorable than small ones when required to predict memory performance during the study phase. This study examines perceptual contrast as the prerequisite for this font-size effect on JOLs and explores how perceptual contrast leads to this effect. In Experiment 1, perceptual contrast was achieved by inserting words with one font (e.