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Confidence in action: Differences between perceived accuracy of decision and motor response
Marta Siedlecka1, Marcin Koculak2, Borysław Paulewicz2
1Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, Kraków, 30-060, Poland. marta.siedlecka@uj.edu.pl.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|April 27, 2021
Summary
After making a decision, confidence in its correctness can change. Post-action confidence ratings more accurately reflect decision accuracy and error awareness, suggesting a role for post-action processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Decision Science
Background:
- Decision-making is accompanied by confidence, which can fluctuate post-decision.
- The relationship between action, confidence, and error awareness requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between taking action and subsequent confidence in decision accuracy or error.
- To determine if post-action processing influences confidence and error awareness.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-four volunteers completed a perceptual decision task with optional actions.
- Participants provided confidence ratings or error reports after each decision.
Main Results:
- Post-response confidence ratings were higher and better correlated with accuracy.
- Post-response error reports more reliably identified actual errors.
- Findings suggest post-action processing influences confidence and error awareness.
Conclusions:
- Confidence and error awareness are not solely based on pre-action information.
- Post-action processing plays a significant role in evaluating decisions and recognizing errors.
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