Underconfidence linked to anxiety-depression and overconfidence linked to compulsivity in new study

A new study from UCL researchers has found that metacognitive biases in anxiety-depression and compulsivity extend across perception and memory.

This study, which was published in PLOS Mental Health explored how metacognition is affected in mental illness symptoms such as those relevant to OCD, anxiety and depression. Recent studies show that highly compulsive individuals tend to be overconfident in their perceptions, while OCD patients are underconfident in their memories.

Using a transdiagnostic individual differences approach with a general population sample of 327 people, the researchers quantified metacognitive patterns across memory and perception.

Across cognitive domains, the researchers found that underconfidence was linked to anxiety-depression and overconfidence was linked to compulsivity. While both anxiety-depression and compulsivity were predominantly explained by global low self-esteem, other associations varied across a confidence hierarchy, with compulsivity exhibiting more specific alterations at more local metacognitive levels.

Overall, the researchers found that metacognitive biases affect mental health in general, but the impact varies at different levels of confidence.

Lead author, Dr Tricia Seow (Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing) said: "This research helps us understand how confidence levels in decision-making are altered in mental health conditions. By investigating these connections, we can gain better insight into how different mental illnesses present and function, paving the way for more targeted and effective treatments."

Image credit: Alex Green/ Pexels

Links

• Read the paper in PLOS Mental Health 
• Dr Tricia Seow's academic profile