Try and try again: Post-error boost of an implicit measure of agency

Costa, Steven Di; Théro, Héloïse; Chambon, Valérian; Haggard, Patrick

doi:10.1080/17470218.2017.1350871

Cited by 43 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Despite these straightforward intuitions, the exact relationship between agency and learning from errors has hardly been studied. Intentional binding, one implicit measure of SoA, is stronger in the trial following a loss, than in a trial following a win, constituting a post error agency boost, or PEAB effect (Di Costa et al, 2017). Losses can convey important information regarding the structure of the task (as in probabilistic learning setting), and thus can inform future decisions by helping agents to choose subsequent actions which maximize their rewards.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning from informative losses boosts the sense of agency

Majchrowicz

Kulakova

Costa

et al. 2020

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

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Sense of agency, the feeling of having control over one’s actions, is modulated by whether one’s choices lead to desired or undesired outcomes. Learning similarly depends on outcome values from previous experience. In the current study, we evaluate a possible link between the sense of agency and learning, by investigating how intentional binding, an implicit measure of agency, changes during a probabilistic learning task. In two experiments, we show increased intentional binding in trials that follow losses, compared with trials that follow wins. Experiment 1 demonstrated that this post-error agency boost (PEAB) effect is rule-specific, as it did not occur if the trial following an error involved different action–outcome contingencies. Furthermore, PEAB was not modulated by the type of outcome presentation (monetary vs. affective). Experiment 2 showed that the PEAB effect can also occur when the current action involves a forced (as opposed to free) choice, but only when the previous, loss-provoking action was chosen freely. Thus, PEAB occurs when current actions are informed by outcomes of one’s own previous action choices. Electroencephalography (EEG) data linked these effects to two event-related potential components, namely, the Feedback Related Negativity and the P300. Taken together, these results support the notion that PEAB reflects an adaptive property of human sense of agency, facilitating effective learning about the action–outcome structure of a specific task, to optimise future performance. By clarifying the conditions for enhancing the sense of agency through learning, this work adds to our understanding of human learning and agency.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study by Di Costa, Théro, Chambon, & Haggard (2017) used the probabilistic reversal learning paradigm (PRL) to address the link between learning an agency. The task required participants to choose between pressing one of two keys, each mapped to a different monetary reward probability (80:20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning from informative losses boosts the sense of agency

Majchrowicz

Kulakova

Costa

et al. 2020

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

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“…Finally, we also included a ‘predictability’ factor in the coercive condition in Experiment 2: the instruction that the commander sent by pressing one of two keys was either fully predictable from the key pressed (coercive predictable condition) or only predictable on 50% of trials (coercive unpredictable condition). Previous studies have showed that unpredicted outcomes reduce SoA [ 33 ] and should thus constitute a ceiling effect in the reduction of agency.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Only giving orders? An experimental study of the sense of agency when giving or receiving commands

2018

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In human societies, agents are assumed to experience being the author of their own actions. These basic motoric experiences of action are influenced by social hierarchies, leading to surprising and morally significant results. Here we ask whether, under coercion, the sense of agency and responsibility pass from the person who receives orders to the person who gives them. Volunteers took turns to play the roles of ‘commander’, ‘agent’ or ‘victim’ in a task where the commander coerced the agent to deliver painful shocks to the ‘victim’. We used ‘intentional binding’ as an implicit measure of sense of agency in both commanders and agents, in conditions of coercion and free-choice. We observed a reduced sense of agency when agents received coercive instructions, relative to when they freely chose which action to execute. We also found that sense of agency in the commanders was reduced when they coerced agents to administer the shock on their behalf, relative to when they acted by themselves. This last effect was associated with the commander’s self-reported level on a psychopathy scale. Thus, coercion resulted in neither commander nor agent feeling agency for the effect of the action, as measured through implicit methods. Our results could have profound implications for social decision-making and social regulation of moral behaviour.

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“…Few studies have examined the temporal decrease (or enhancement) of SoA. Di Costa et al investigated the SoA of rewards during the performance of an adaptation task and observed that the SoA involved an enhanced reward system [ 32 ]. Based on the above discussions, positive emotion driven by the reward system may have enhanced the SoA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intentional Binding Effects in the Experience of Noticing the Regularity of a Perceptual-Motor Task

et al. 2020

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Noticing the regularity of the task is necessary to enhance motor performance. The experience of noticing further motivates improvement in motor performance. Motor control is explained by a comparator model that modifies the motor command to reduce discrepancies between sensory predictions and actual outcomes. A similar model could apply to sense of agency (SoA). SoA refers to the sensation of controlling one’s own actions and, through them, the outcomes in the external world. SoA may also be enhanced by the experience of noticing errors. We recently reported gradual enhancement of SoA in participants with high perceptual-motor performance. However, what component of the motor task changed the SoA is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the influence over time of the experience of noticing during a motor task on SoA. Participants performed an implicit regularity perceptual-motor task and an intentional binding task (a method that can quantitatively measure SoA) simultaneously. We separated participants into groups after the experiment based on noticing or not noticing the regularity. SoA was gradually enhanced in the noticing group, compared with that of the non-noticing group. The results suggest that the experience of noticing may enhance SoA during perceptual-motor tasks.

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Try and try again: Post-error boost of an implicit measure of agency

Cited by 43 publications

References 32 publications

Learning from informative losses boosts the sense of agency

Learning from informative losses boosts the sense of agency

Only giving orders? An experimental study of the sense of agency when giving or receiving commands

Intentional Binding Effects in the Experience of Noticing the Regularity of a Perceptual-Motor Task

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