It remains unclear to what extent the performance-monitoring (PM) processes involved in perceptual decisions are also involved in more complex reasoning decisions. To address this problem, we examined whether PM-related cortical potentials known to correlate with confidence ratings in the context of simple perceptual decisions also correlate with confidence ratings in a more complex reasoning task. In an EEG experiment, 49 participants had to quickly decide whether an equation (e.g. 9 * 7 = 65) was correct or incorrect and then report their confidence in that decision. Task difficulty and response fluency were varied to manipulate confidence. Pooling responses across correct as well as incorrect trials, we analyzed amplitudes of Error-Related Negativity (pooled ERN) and Error Positivity (pooled Pe). We found that pooled ERN but not pooled Pe had a positive significant correlation with decision confidence and that unpooled ERN correlated with confidence for correct, but not for error trials. Further analysis indicated that although pooled ERN correlated with task difficulty, neither pooled or unpooled potentials mediated the effects of difficulty or fluency on confidence. These results suggest that pooled ERN might reflect implicit performance monitoring and that confidence for simple perceptual and complex reasoning decisions may rely on different neural mechanisms.

尚不清楚在感知决策中涉及的绩效监控（PM）流程在何种程度上也参与了更复杂的推理决策。为了解决这个问题，我们检查了在简单感知决策的情况下已知与PM相关的皮质电位是否与置信度相关，在更复杂的推理任务中是否也与置信度相关。在一项脑电图实验中，有49名参与者必须迅速决定一个方程式（例如9 * 7 = 65）是正确还是不正确，然后报告他们对该决定的信心。任务难度和反应流利程度各不相同，以操纵信心。汇总正确和不正确试验之间的响应，我们分析了与错误相关的负性（合并的ERN）和错误正性（合并的Pe）的幅度。我们发现，合并的ERN但与合并的Pe没有正相关，与决策置信度正相关，而未合并的ERN与正确性（而不是错误试验）的置信度相关。进一步的分析表明，尽管合并的ERN与任务难度相关，但合并或未合并的潜能均未介导难度或流畅性对自信心的影响。这些结果表明，汇总的ERN可能反映了隐式的性能监控，并且对于简单的感知和复杂的推理决策的信心可能依赖于不同的神经机制。合并或未合并的电势均未介导困难或流畅性对自信心的影响。这些结果表明，汇总的ERN可能反映了隐式的性能监控，并且对于简单的感知和复杂的推理决策的信心可能依赖于不同的神经机制。合并或未合并的电势均未介导困难或流畅性对自信心的影响。这些结果表明，汇总的ERN可能反映了隐式的性能监控，并且对于简单的感知和复杂的推理决策的信心可能依赖于不同的神经机制。