The development of the two-step account of sense of agency

Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (5) : 1273-1279.

PDF(639 KB)
PDF(639 KB)
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (5) : 1273-1279.

The development of the two-step account of sense of agency

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Abstract

Gallagher defined the Minimal Self as the self with the property of pre-reflection, pre-language, and embodiment. Minimal Self refers to the most basic, immediate and direct empirical subject that still exists after all the non-essential characteristics related to self which have been stripped off. It includes Sense of Ownership (SO) and Sense of Agency (SoA). SO is the sense that I am the one who is undergoing an experience. SoA is the subjective experience in individuals’ voluntary action it is the subjective sense that I am the one who is initiating an action, For example, in a volleyball match, the participant can experience that she is the subject who wants to spike and is making the action. Revealing the development process of the SoA is of great significance for understanding the formation of self-consciousness, and it will also provide a new perspective of exploring the causes of various mental disorders. There is a two-step account of SoA, feeling of agency (FoA) and judgment of agency (JoA). Individuals’ FoA is emerged by matching the prediction of motion with the actual motion effects, and their JoA is produced by the inference from external environmental clues. This study introduced three stages of the SoA’s development from the perspective of the two-step account. The development of SoA has a strong correlation with the formation of self-consciousness and it has three segments. The first stage is from fetus to newborn; their movements in this stage become important basis for the development of SoA. The second stage is from newborn to 8-month, the FoA beginning to develop. The third stage is from 8-month to 4 years old; in this stage, the JoA gradually formed. And the key to the development of SoA is to found an action-effect causal association. Good interpersonal interaction can provide good behavioral feedbacks for infants and then promote infants to form the action-effect causal association. Good interpersonal interaction also provides children more opportunity to make decisions and this will let them more changes to practice their JoA. Thus, good interpersonal interaction is a significant environmental impact factor in the development of SoA. In this process, the nurses not only need to interact actively with young individuals but also need to give them some space for reflecting their actions. This paper points out the shortcomings of the three-stage development model of SoA and also believes that future research should be focused on explaining the development of the SoA from a variety of theoretical perspectives, such as Theory of Apparent Mental Causation and Cue Integration Theory. From these two theories may be more helpful to explain the development process of JoA and the influence factor of JoA. Second, modifying the measurement paradigm of SoA for infants and young children, need to find a more convenient and accurate way to measure the SoA for young individuals. Third, the role of SoA development in social cognitive development. Fourth, explore the relationship between the development of SoA and autism spectrum disorder will be of great significance to explain the causes and treatment of their symptoms.

Key words

minimal self / sense of agency / development / interpersonal interaction

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The development of the two-step account of sense of agency[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2021, 44(5): 1273-1279
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