Accuracy in introspectively deciding if a correct decision is made is highly variable between individuals according to the research article “Relating Introspective Accuracy to Individual Differences in Brain Structure” published in the September 17, 2010 issue of Science.

This study measured the accuracy of introspective reporting by 32 healthy people on whether they were right or not. Some performed at close to chance level while others were correct about three quarters of the time.

Next, the researchers looked for brain structures that correlated with introspective accuracy. They found that the amount of gray matter in the right anterior prefrontal cortex correlated with introspective accuracy.

It’s exciting to begin looking at consistent variability between individual brains correlated with the output of individual minds! This study suggests that those with certain structural features in the prefrontal area of their brain are better at knowing they are right.