Copy - METACOGNITION OF EMOTIONAL STATES

Paula Alarcón

METACOGNITION OF ONE'S OWN EMOTIONAL STATES

Mind and Brain Doctoral Program PhD proposal

Index

Interdisciplinarity

Implications

Methods and Experiments

Experimental design

Research questionsHypotheses

Aim of this PhD

Emotional processingMetacognition

Introduction

Previous studies Research projects

Academic Background

Academic Background

2019

2018

2021-2022 (8 months)

2020-2021(10 months)

Neural circuits in Drosophila

Metacognition of motor skills

MSc Thesis

Internship cognitive neuroscience

Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience

2010

BSc Thesis

MSc Neuroscience

Freie Universität Berlin

Immunology

BSc Biochemistry

2010

2014

Experience:Electroencephalography (EEG)Metacognition research

Elisa Filevich's lab

Assisting an ongoing project to study Metacognition and Sense of Agency.How different information about our movements (movement vs outcome) is used for attribution of agency.

Recent-graduate internship in cognitive neuroscience

Metacognition of Motor Skills

To what extent are we aware of the emotions we feel?

Are there metacognitive abilities to recognise our own emotional states?

Lausen & Hammerschmidt, 2020

Kelly & Metcalfe, 2011

Emotional Processing

Emotions have a particular “feeling state” which we can be aware of.Emotional processing can happen unconsciously.

• Emotional facial expressions

• Prosodic speech

Metacognition (awareness) of emotion

Metacognitive ability of emotion recognition (in other's):

Emotional Awareness

(Knowledge)

(Memory)

Monitoring

Control

Object-Level

Meta-Level

La reproduction interdite, René Magritte

Higher-order evaluations of cognitive processes (memory, perception, motor, attention, emotion...)

Metacognition

"Thinking about thinking"

M-ratio = meta-d'/d'

Metacognitive efficiency (M-ratio) is the level of metacognitive sensitivity (meta-d’) related to task performance (d’).M-ratio = meta d’/d’

A subject has high metacognitive sensitivity (meta-d') when it is able to exclusively endorse correct trials with high confidence.

How confident a subject is about their performance in a given behavioral task.

Higher-order evaluations of cognitive processes (memory, perception, motor, attention...)

2-Alternative Forced Choice (2-AFC) task + Confidence

How to study it

Metacognition

Baird et. al, 2014

3. Training in meditation may increase metacognition of emotion, as it was shown for memory metacognition.

• Can metacognition of emotion be enhanced via meditation practices?

• Is there a difference in the M-ratio for different emotional states?

• What is the M-ratio of recognition of one’s own emotional states?

1. Metacognition of emotion may be similar to metacognition in other domains that rely on introspection.

2. Some emotional states (arousal, hedonic valence) may be easier to monitor than others.

• Is there a difference in the M-ratio for different emotional states?

• What is the M-ratio of recognition of one’s own emotional states?

Hypotheses

Research questions

Aims of this PhD

Understand to what extent we are aware of our own emotional states

EEG

Lee & Park, 2011

M-ratio

ERP components for emotional processing: EPN (visual), LPP (associative)Comparing global power of ERPs voltages of both stimuliIntrospective Accuracy: Matching task responses with higher ERP voltageAccuracy, Confidence ratings:

Psychophysics (2-AFC task)

Population and sample

1. Metacognition of emotion may be similar to metacognition in other domains that rely on introspection.

Experimental design

Condition 1

Condition 2

M-ratio

2. Some emotional states (arousal, hedonic valence) may be easier to monitor than others.

EEG

Lee & Park, 2011

M-ratio

ERP components for emotional processing: EPN (visual), LPP (associative)Comparing global power of ERPs voltages of both stimuliIntrospective Accuracy: Matching task responses with higher ERP voltageAccuracy, Confidence ratings:

Psychophysics (2-AFC task)

Population and sample

1. Metacognition of emotion may be similar to metacognition in other domains that rely on introspection.

Experimental design

Session 2

Population and sample

Population and sample

2. Some emotional states (arousal, hedonic valence) may be easier to monitor than others.

Baird et. al, 2014

Session 1

Population and sample

vs

Control group

2-week meditation program

3. Training in meditation may increase metacognition of emotion, as it was shown for memory metacognition.

1. Metacognition of emotion may be similar to metacognition in other domains that rely on introspection.

Experimental design

Population and sample

To what extent are we aware of our own emotional states?

• Metacognition and consciousness
• Emotional free will

Philosophy

Implications of this study

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Psychology

• Emotional processing

Cognitive neuroscience

• Metacognitive training to improve academic performance

Educational sciences

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

“I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.”

Thanks for your attention

Any questions?

Ward, 2019

Bradley &, Lang, 2017

International Affective Picture System

IAPS

Schupp et al., 2007

Early Posterior Negative potential (EPN)

Late Positive Potential (LPP)

Keil et al., 2002

Emotional Processing: Arousing vs neutral images

ERP-s components

Maniscalco & Lau, 2014

2-AFC task + Confidence

Signal Detection Theory

Metacognition

Experiment 1:Design, set up, programming

2022

Experiment 2:Design, data collection (session 1)

2024

Experiment 1:Pilots, data collection, analyses

2023

START

GOAL

Experiment 2:Meditation training, data collection (session 2), analyses

2025

Writing Thesis

2026

PHD TIMELINE

Emotional Processing

Emotions have a particular “feeling state” which we can be aware of.Emotional processing can happen unconsciously.

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to perceive, evaluate, and manage emotions in yourself and others.

Focused Attention Meditation (FAM) concentrates on e.g. breathing, while monitoring thoughts, feelings, and sensations that come as distractors.

Meditation practices

Emotional Awareness

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Self-monitoring of emotions is a treatment strategy, that allows the patient to become aware of patterns of thought and behavior.