Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
09:00
Advancing Dyslexia Assessment in Children Through Computerized Testing
Published on: August 16, 2024
The self-consistency model of subjective confidence
1Department of Psychology/Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Israel. akoriat@research.haifa.ac.il
Psychological Review
|October 26, 2011
Summary
People monitor answer correctness using self-consistency, basing confidence on consistent evidence retrieval. This model explains confidence-accuracy links and overconfidence bias, with response speed and accessibility as contributing factors.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Decision Making
- Metacognition
Background:
- Understanding how individuals assess the correctness of their judgments is crucial in cognitive science.
- Confidence judgments play a key role in metacognition and decision-making processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate a self-consistency model for confidence judgments and accuracy.
- To investigate the relationship between confidence, consistency, and accuracy in decision-making.
Main Methods:
- Participants answered 2-alternative questions, retrieving samples of representations to base confidence on consistency.
- Confidence was modeled using statistical level of confidence (SLC) principles.
- Inter-participant consensus and intra-participant consistency were analyzed for majority and minority choices.
Main Results:
- The self-consistency model successfully predicted confidence-accuracy relationships across various tasks.
- Confidence-accuracy relationship is a byproduct of the consistency-correctness relationship.
- Overconfidence bias arises from a reliability-validity discrepancy, with confidence monitoring reliability (self-consistency).
Conclusions:
- Self-consistency is a primary mechanism for monitoring answer correctness and informing confidence.
- Response speed and information accessibility are additional cues influencing self-consistency and confidence.
- The findings offer insights into metacognitive processes and potential biases in judgment.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model
The Self-Evaluation Maintenance (SEM) model offers a psychological framework to understand how individuals’ self-esteem is influenced by the achievements of others, particularly those with whom they share close personal bonds. The SEM model operates when personal rather than social identity guides individuals. Central to this model is the notion that individuals have an inherent desire to preserve a favorable self-image, which is continuously shaped by interpersonal comparisons and...
03:00Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
01:17Strategies of Self-Presentation II: Self-Verification
Self-verification is a fundamental psychological drive wherein individuals seek affirmation of their self-concept from others, striving for consistency between their internal self-view and external perceptions. This drive operates even when the self-concept is negative, influencing interpersonal behavior and feedback preferences in complex and often counterintuitive ways. Unlike the self-enhancement motive, which seeks positive evaluations, self-verification prioritizes coherence and...
02:08Trait and State Self-Esteem
The term self-esteem is often used generically, to refer to how people feel about themselves. However, according to research, there are three distinct constructs that should not be used interchangeably (Brown & Marshall, 2006).
01:24Strategies of Self-Presentation III: Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring is a central construct in understanding individual differences in self-presentation strategies across social contexts. It refers to how individuals observe, regulate, and control their expressive behavior and self-presentation following situational cues. Self-monitoring reflects a person's sensitivity to social appropriateness and willingness to adapt behavior to fit varying interpersonal demands.High vs. Low Self-Monitoring IndividualsIndividuals high in self-monitoring are...
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.