Performance in visual working memory (VWM) fluctuates with task difficulty and these fluctuations covary with emotional experiences during task execution (Laybourn et al., 2022). We asked whether perceived task performance (PTP) – how well participants think they performed – is linked with objective accuracy, and whether it adds unique value in predicting discrete emotions beyond accuracy and task difficulty (set size).

Twenty-six adults (17 female; M_age = 25.5, SD = 3.38; N = 22 for models requiring recall error) completed eight experimental blocks of a continuous color-report task (set size 4/8). For each block we computed recall error and self-reports of joy, pride, anger, frustration, boredom, and PTP. We used random intercept, fixed-slope linear mixed models with within-person (cluster-mean) centering to test our assumptions. When recall error exceeded a person’s mean, PTP decreased (β≈−0.038, p<.001). Controlling for recall error and set size, higher-than-usual PTP predicted more joy and pride as well as less anger, frustration and boredom (all ps ≤ .016, Holm-adjusted). Between persons, participants who overall felt they performed better across the experiment reported higher average joy and pride when controlling for average recall error, but showed no reliable associations with anger, frustration, or boredom.

We conclude that beyond objective accuracy and difficulty, how good participants think they performed carries unique signal for discrete emotions during VWM task execution. These findings highlight a metacognitive pathway linking performance monitoring to affect and warrant replication with larger samples.