Metacognitive confidence and affect – two sides of the same coin

Bibliographic Data

ID7149910
AuthorsAlan Voodla (0000-0001-9957-6832, University of Tartu, corresponding author), Andero Uusberg (0000-0002-7327-9503, University of Tartu), Kobe Desender (0000-0002-5462-4260, Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven)
Year2025
Volume39
Issue8
Pages1857-1874
Publication date2025-11-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCognition & Emotion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-9931 • E-ISSN: 1464-0600
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02699931.2025.2451795
PMID39831796
OpenAlexW4406626759
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited55

Decision confidence is a prototypical metacognitive representation that is thought to approximate the probability that a decision is correct. The perception of being correct has also been associated with affective valence such that being correct feels more positive and being mistaken more negative. This suggests that, similarly to confidence, affective valence reflects the probability that a decision is correct. However, both fields of research have seen very little interaction. Here, we test if affect, similarly to confidence reflects probability that a decision is correct in two perceptual decision-making experiments where we compare the relationships of theoretically relevant variables (e.g. evidence, accuracy, and expectancy) with both confidence and affect ratings. The findings indicate that confidence and affect ratings are similarly sensitive to changes in accuracy, evidence, and expectancy, indicating that both track the subjective probability that a decision is correct. We identify various mechanisms that can explain these results. We also envision future research for clarifying the role of cognitive and affective aspects of metacognition relying on deeper integration of the respective research fields

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Expectancy theory · Metacognition · Perception · Self-confidence · Communication · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Memory Processes and Influences · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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