The role of visual feedback in metacognitive judgments of motor performance

Predicting the outcome of one’s actions is crucial for effective behaviour. The mechanical underpinnings of this metacognitive ability are, however, poorly understood. In two preregistered experiments…

Abstract

Predicting the outcome of one’s actions is crucial for effective behaviour. The mechanical underpinnings of this metacognitive ability are, however, poorly understood. In two preregistered experiments, we investigated the impact of visual feedback on basketball players’ ability to monitor the accuracy of their free throws. Sixty basketball players performed free throws while a visual occlusion was triggered either immediately after the ball left their hands or at intervals of 200, 400, 600, or 800ms. Participants then predicted whether or not the ball was in the basket and reported their confidence level in their answer. The results indicated that the amount of visual feedback co-varied positively with the capacity to adjust confidence to predictions following successful, but not failed throws. Our results suggest the importance of distinguishing between successful and unsuccessful trials when studying multisensory integration on motor metacognition.