A functional analysis of personal autonomy: How restricting 'what', 'when' and 'how' affects experienced agency and goal motivation.
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| Title: | A functional analysis of personal autonomy: How restricting 'what', 'when' and 'how' affects experienced agency and goal motivation. |
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| Authors: | Zhang, Chao, Sankaran, Supraja, Aarts, Henk |
| Source: | European Journal of Social Psychology. Apr2023, Vol. 53 Issue 3, p567-584. 18p. 1 Diagram, 3 Charts, 8 Graphs. |
| Subjects: | Social participation, Confidence intervals, Motivation (Psychology), Artificial intelligence, Autonomy (Psychology), Descriptive statistics, Research funding, Goal (Psychology), Behavior modification |
| Abstract: | Personal autonomy is central to people's experiences of agency and abilities to actively take part in society. To address the challenges of supporting autonomy, we propose a functional model of autonomy, according to which the experience of agency is a function of the opportunity to determine what to do, when to act and how to act in goal‐pursuit. We tested the model in three experiments where the three goal‐pursuit components could be constrained by another person or an artificial intelligence (AI) agent. Results showed that removing any of the three components from one's own decisions reduced experienced agency (Study 1a and 1b) and lowered motivation to pursue goals in organisational contexts (Study 2). In comparison to the strong and robust main effects, interactions between the components and the effects of the source of restriction (human vs. AI) were negligible. Implications for personal autonomy, algorithmic decision‐making and behaviour change interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of European Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Personal autonomy is central to people's experiences of agency and abilities to actively take part in society. To address the challenges of supporting autonomy, we propose a functional model of autonomy, according to which the experience of agency is a function of the opportunity to determine what to do, when to act and how to act in goal‐pursuit. We tested the model in three experiments where the three goal‐pursuit components could be constrained by another person or an artificial intelligence (AI) agent. Results showed that removing any of the three components from one's own decisions reduced experienced agency (Study 1a and 1b) and lowered motivation to pursue goals in organisational contexts (Study 2). In comparison to the strong and robust main effects, interactions between the components and the effects of the source of restriction (human vs. AI) were negligible. Implications for personal autonomy, algorithmic decision‐making and behaviour change interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00462772 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/ejsp.2923 |
