Bits of Confidence: Metacognition as Uncertainty Reduction

This self-reflective act is essential for learning, memory, consciousness, group decision, and many other aspects of cognition. Researchers evaluate the quality of metacognition according to bias, sensitivity and efficiency.

These are often measured with such quantities as meta - d’, or M-ratio by inferring the potential accuracy of the primary task from the secondary confidence rating performance. In the present study, I offer a comprehensive account of confidence judgments and metacognition, in terms of a communication system between stimuli, actor, rater, and experimenter. Several information theory techniques are harnessed to uncover the underlying components of information transmission between stimuli, actor and rater.