Introspective inference counteracts perceptual distortion

Andra Mihali (), Marianne Broeker, Florian D. M. Ragalmuto and Guillermo Horga ()
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Andra Mihali: New York State Psychiatric Institute
Marianne Broeker: New York State Psychiatric Institute
Florian D. M. Ragalmuto: New York State Psychiatric Institute
Guillermo Horga: New York State Psychiatric Institute

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-24

Abstract: Abstract Introspective agents can recognize the extent to which their internal perceptual experiences deviate from the actual states of the external world. This ability, also known as insight, is critically required for reality testing and is impaired in psychosis, yet little is known about its cognitive underpinnings. We develop a Bayesian modeling framework and a psychophysics paradigm to quantitatively characterize this type of insight while people experience a motion after-effect illusion. People can incorporate knowledge about the illusion into their decisions when judging the actual direction of a motion stimulus, compensating for the illusion (and often overcompensating). Furthermore, confidence, reaction-time, and pupil-dilation data all show signatures consistent with inferential adjustments in the Bayesian insight model. Our results suggest that people can question the veracity of what they see by making insightful inferences that incorporate introspective knowledge about internal distortions.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42813-2

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