A review on agency effect in human computer interaction

The feeling of directing one's own actions and, via this control, influencing the external environment is defined as agency in cognitive neuroscience. We think that one of the most important factors in how individuals engage with technology is their sense of personal agency. This article relies on cognitive neuroscience theoretical views to present two implicit techniques for investigating personal agency experimentally. We provide the results of two studies in which these techniques were used to HCI issues. One study found that a novel input modality, skin-based interaction, may significantly boost users’ feelings of agency. The second shows how changes in the settings of support methods like predictive mouse acceleration may have a big effect on the feeling of agency of users. The approaches offered give designers new tools for assessing and improving empowering interaction strategies and interfaces that give users a natural feeling of control and ownership over their activities.