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Description: Judgments of learning (JOLs) are often reactive on cue-target pairs. This pattern, however, is moderated by relatedness, as related but not unrelated pairs often show a memorial benefit when compared to a no-JOL control group. According to Soderstrom et al.’s (2015) cue-strengthening account, JOLs direct attention towards intrinsic cues which aid retrieval. However, reactivity may instead reflect specific processing of cue-target associations, which is applied selectively only when semantic associations are available. The present study tested these accounts using mediated associates (e.g., lion – stripes) which are directly unrelated to each other and indirectly related through a non-presented mediator (e.g., tiger). Based on a cue-strengthening account, no reactivity would be expected for mediated associates. In contrast, a relational account predicts a memory benefit whenever pairs are semantically related, even when these pairs are indirectly related through mediators. Overall, reactivity extended to mediated associates in cued recall (Experiment 1) and recognition tests (Experiments 2 and 3). Interestingly, JOL reactivity was consistently found on recognition of non-mediated unrelated pairs (Experiments 2-4). Thus, positive reactivity on related pairs for cued-recall testing likely reflects increased activation of cue-target associations. However, because recognition is based on familiarity cues, reactivity occurs globally for all pair types, regardless of cue-target relations.