Confidence and Insight into Working Memory Are Shaped by Attention and Recent Performance

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Working memory is limited in capacity, affecting information access.
• Selective attention and introspective judgments influence memory performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate if attention to working memory contents alters introspective judgments.
• Examine the relationship between attention, memory performance, and confidence.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments used retrospective cues (retrocues) to direct attention during working memory maintenance.
• Trial-wise feedback on performance was provided in the second experiment.

Main Results:

• Selective attention improved both confidence judgments and memory performance.
• Alpha desynchronization correlated with memory error and confidence, indicating sequential processing.
• Participants updated confidence judgments based on performance feedback.

Conclusions:

• Working memory is flexible, allowing confidence modulation via attention or feedback.
• Internally directed attention can enhance both memory content and introspective insight.