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Cited by 106Free Will and AgencyPsychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentSocial and Intergroup Psychology

Making sense of agency: Belief in free will as a unique and important construct

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Feldman, Gilad·2017·Social and Personality Psychology Compass
DOI 10.1111/spc3.12293
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Abstract

Belief in free will is the general belief that human behavior is free from internal and external constraints across situations for both self and others. In the last decade, scholars in social‐cognitive psychology and experimental philosophy have made progress in defining free will terms, exploring how laypersons think of free will, discovering related cognitive processes and biases, and examining the behavioral outcomes of believing in free will. The growing interest in this construct raises the need for a discussion of what is new about free will beliefs, and how this construct differs from and relates to other well‐known agency constructs in the literature. In this review, we integrate conceptual discussions and empirical findings in the existing literature to highlight the belief in free will as a separate and important construct, different from existing constructs in the literature, and capturing unique aspects of agency. We conclude by calling researchers to recognize these differences and to leverage the potential in the construct of the belief in free will as a predictor of cognition and behavior.

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Authors
Feldman, G.
Affiliations
Maastricht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Feldman, Gilad
ORCID
Feldman, Gilad
Venue
Social and Personality Psychology Compass
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-01
Volume
11
Issue
1
ISSN
1751-9004 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1111/spc3.12293
OpenAlex
W2572205208
Cited by
106
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2
FWCI
8.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Social and Personality Psychology Compass (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Free Will and Agency
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Keywords
belief in free will, agency, cognitive biases, experimental philosophy, social cognitive psychology

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