Is there a G factor for metacognition? Correlations in retrospective metacognitive sensitivity across tasks.

Audrey Mazancieux,Stephen M Fleming,Céline Souchay,Chris J A Moulin

doi:10.1037/xge0000746

Abstract

Is metacognition a general resource shared across domains? Previous research has documented consistent biases in judgments across tasks. In contrast, there is debate regarding the domain generality or the domain specificity of the ability to discriminate between correct and incorrect answers (metacognitive sensitivity) because most previous work has documented nonsignificant correlations across domains. However, such null findings may be due to low statistical power and differences in task structure or performance, thereby masking a latent domain generality in metacognition. We examined across-domain correlations in confidence level and sensitivity in a large sample (N = 181). Participants performed 4 2-alternative forced-choice tasks (episodic memory, semantic memory, executive function, and visual perception) with trial-by-trial confidence judgments. We found significant correlations in average confidence level across tasks. By applying a hierarchical Bayesian model to estimate cross-task covariance, we found five out 6 cross-task correlations in metacognitive efficiency (meta-d′/d′) were significant, even for pairs of tasks in which first-order performance was not correlated. This suggests that at least some components of metacognitive efficiency in retrospective confidence are domain general.

Highlights

Is metacognition a general resource shared across domains? Previous research has documented consistent biases in judgments across tasks
We focus on assessing the domain generality of both metacognitive bias and sensitivity, two measures that map onto two different aspects of metacognition
The present study compared retrospective confidence judgments (RCJs) across four cognitive tasks to quantify a potential domain-general metacognitive resource. We focused on both confidence level and metacognitive efficiency

Summary

Introduction

Is metacognition a general resource shared across domains? Previous research has documented consistent biases in judgments across tasks. There is debate regarding the domain generality or the domain specificity of the ability to discriminate between correct and incorrect answers (metacognitive sensitivity) because most previous work has documented nonsignificant correlations across domains. By applying a hierarchical Bayesian model to estimate cross-task covariance, we found five out 6 cross-task correlations in metacognitive efficiency (meta-d=/d=) were significant, even for pairs of tasks in which first-order performance was not correlated This suggests that at least some components of metacognitive efficiency in retrospective confidence are domain general. A domain-general view of metacognition proposes that people use a common resource when they evaluate their performance across different types of tasks. Propriate for addressing the question of domain generality because they can be applied to decisions made across a variety of tasks

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