Contributions of age and clinical depression to metacognitive performance

One aspect of metacognition is the ability to judge the accuracy of our own performance, even in the absence of external feedback, which is often measured using confidence ratings. Past research suggests that confidence is lower in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Less is known about the ability of MDD patients to discriminate correct from incorrect performance (metacognitive efficiency). The metacognitive performance of aged MDD patients (62-89y) was compared to an age-matched control group. A younger control group (21-28y) was included to also explore the relationshipbetweenageandmetacognitive performance. We found no difference in confidence bias nor metacognitive efficiency between MDD patients and age-matched controls.We found age-related differences in metacognition:normal aging was associated with higher confidencebut lower metacognitive efficiency. The overconfidence was specifically driven by overconfidence in incorrect trials. Our results point to the importance ofage while investigating the relation between MDD and metacognitive performance.