Cited by 29Free Will and AgencyMotor Control and AdaptationVirtual Reality Applications and Impacts

The Feeling of Agency: Empirical Indicators for a Pre-Reflective Level of Action Awareness

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David, Nicole, Stenzel, Anna, Schneider, Till R., Engel, Andreas K.·2011·Frontiers in Psychology

Abstract

The sense of agency has been defined as the sense that I am the author of my own actions. This sense, however, is usually not reflected upon but instead pre-reflectively experienced. Experimental approaches usually measure the sense of agency by judgments or verbal reports, despite evidence that the sense of agency is not sufficiently assessed on such a reflective level. Here we sought to identify non-verbal measures of the sense of agency, particularly testing the relevance of physiological activity such as skin conductance and heart rate. Manipulating the visual feedback to an executed movement, we investigated how well physiological activity and other movement parameters differed between real and false feedback (i.e., between actual agency and non-agency), and how they related to accuracy of agency judgments. Skin conductance and heart rate did not differ between agency and non-agency situations; neither did they inform agency judgments. In contrast, movement onsets - particularly, discrepancies between feedback and movement onsets - were related to agency judgments. Overall, our results indicate weak visceral-somatic associations with the sense of agency. Thus, physiological activity did not prove to be an empirical indicator for the feeling of agency.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00149

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  • Experimental manipulations of perceived agency need not evoke changes in autonomic responses such as heart rate and skin conductance.

    “experimental manipulations of perceived agency need not evoke changes in autonomic responses such heart rate and skin conductance”

    From An Interoceptive Predictive Coding Model of Conscious Presence (2012) · cites this paper as David et al., 2011

  • Autonomic signals need not correlate with judgments of agency.

    “these autonomic signals need not correlate with judgments of agency”

    From An Interoceptive Predictive Coding Model of Conscious Presence (2012) · cites this paper as David et al., 2011

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Authors
David, N., Stenzel, A., Schneider, T. R., & Engel, A. K.
Affiliations
  • University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
  • University of Münster (DE)
Corresponding author
David, Nicole
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Published
2011
Volume
2
Pages
149-149
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2151938899
Cited by
29
References
66
Citations by year
2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
FWCI
0.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Free Will and Agency
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
Keywords
sense of agency, action awareness, skin conductance, heart rate, movement onset, visual feedback

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