Yu-An Chen

My research focuses on the methodological challenges within the fields of metacognition and consciousness. During my master's, I investigated how participants' metacognitive appraisals can threaten the construct validity of thought-probing in mind-wandering studies, and I developed a novel paradigm to manipulate judgments of learning independently of task performance.

Currently, I am a DPhil student working with Prof. Nick Yeung to investigate the various strategies behind confidence reporting. By applying computational modeling, we have quantified whether individuals rely on Bayesian or heuristic strategies, revealing substantial individual differences across various domains. We are also developing a behavioral paradigm to detect and bias whether participants rely on metacognitive feelings or beliefs when rating their confidence, a project that has the potential to shed light on the hierarchical neural mechanisms of metacognition.

Beyond metacognition, my consciousness research explores how analyzing strategy choices in confidence ratings might offer a more precise alternative to conventional perceptual awareness scales when probing conscious experiences. I am also developing a study to examine how metacognitive monitoring dictates the temporal resolution of discrete conscious experiences.

Outside of my core research, I founded the Oxford Consciousness Group to foster discussions among researchers at Oxford. Additionally, I co-organize Art's Army for Graduate Studies Abroad with fellow DPhil student Pin Chen, where we provide free consulting, workshops, and mentorship to Taiwanese students pursuing graduate psychology degrees abroad.