Temporal experience modifies future thoughts: Manipulation of Libet's W influences difficulty assessment during a...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychology of Decision-Making
• Philosophy of Mind

Background:

• Subjective decision time (Libet's W) is used as a marker for consciousness.
• The relationship between temporal awareness of decisions and subsequent subjective experiences is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if the temporal experience of decision time (W) affects the perception of task difficulty.
• To explore the directionality of the relationship between W and perceived difficulty.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed a decision-making task.
• Experiment 1 manipulated the perceived timing of Libet's W and assessed subsequent difficulty ratings.
• Experiment 2 examined the influence of perceived difficulty on W.

Main Results:

• Perceived early or late W led to ratings of easy or difficult decisions, respectively.
• Perceived difficulty did not influence the timing of W.
• A unidirectional relationship was found where W influences difficulty metacognition.

Conclusions:

• Subjective temporal experience of decision time (W) plays a role in the metacognition of difficulty evaluation.
• The findings suggest that W modifies the sense of decision difficulty, but not vice versa.