Doubting one’s doubt: A formula for confidence?

People feel, think, and act differently when doubt rather than confidence is accessible. A traditional perspective
on the accessibility of doubt holds that multiple sources of doubt activation should lead to
increased levels of uncertainty. In contrast, we find that under some conditions two sequential sources
of doubt activation result in decreased levels of uncertainty. We suggest that this follows from a metacognitive
process in which people come to ‘‘doubt their doubt.” In Study 1, individuals with chronically
accessible uncertainty who were further exposed to an uncertainty manipulation paradoxically reported
reduced uncertainty. In Study 2, participants were first primed with doubt or certainty and then exposed
to a manipulation associated with either confidence (i.e., head nodding) or doubt (head shaking). Supporting
the idea that people can either trust or doubt their own doubts, head nodding (vs. shaking) accentuated
(vs. attenuated) the impact of the initial doubt vs. certainty manipulation. These findings advance
the literature on meta-cognition, self-doubt, and embodiment, and may have clinical applications.