It wasn’t me: The role of perspective in self-perceptions of responsibility

Brittany Tausen, Lynden Miles, Louisa Lawrie, C. Neil Macrae

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Perceiving oneself as agentic is dependent upon the integration of conscious intention, a corresponding outcome, and body-congruent sensorimotor information. Altering these critical cues, such as the vantage point from which an event is viewed, can have a notable impact on one's sense of agency, including an increased sense of ownership over another person's actions or a reduced sense of responsibility (or control) over one's own actions. In three studies, we investigated whether mentally simulated and written perspectives could have similar effects. Participants were asked to consider ambiguous actions from either a first-person or a third-person perspective. Results revealed that third-person perspectives reduced judgments of personal responsibility for positive and negative actions. Perceptions of personal action execution as well as the perceived overlap between one's real and imagined self were identified as mediators of the reduced sense of responsibility that characterized negative, but not positive, events constructed from a third-person perspective.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)89-98
JournalConsciousness and Cognition
Volume63
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2018
Externally publishedYes

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Self Concept
Ego
Ownership
Cues
Responsibility
Self-perception
Person

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Tausen, Brittany ; Miles, Lynden ; Lawrie, Louisa ; Macrae, C. Neil. / It wasn’t me : The role of perspective in self-perceptions of responsibility. In: Consciousness and Cognition. 2018 ; Vol. 63. pp. 89-98.
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Tausen, B, Miles, L, Lawrie, L & Macrae, CN 2018, 'It wasn’t me: The role of perspective in self-perceptions of responsibility' Consciousness and Cognition, vol. 63, pp. 89-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2018.06.013

It wasn’t me : The role of perspective in self-perceptions of responsibility. / Tausen, Brittany; Miles, Lynden; Lawrie, Louisa; Macrae, C. Neil.

In: Consciousness and Cognition, Vol. 63, 08.2018, p. 89-98.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

TY - JOUR

T1 - It wasn’t me

T2 - The role of perspective in self-perceptions of responsibility

AU - Tausen, Brittany

AU - Miles, Lynden

AU - Lawrie, Louisa

AU - Macrae, C. Neil

PY - 2018/8

Y1 - 2018/8

N2 - Perceiving oneself as agentic is dependent upon the integration of conscious intention, a corresponding outcome, and body-congruent sensorimotor information. Altering these critical cues, such as the vantage point from which an event is viewed, can have a notable impact on one's sense of agency, including an increased sense of ownership over another person's actions or a reduced sense of responsibility (or control) over one's own actions. In three studies, we investigated whether mentally simulated and written perspectives could have similar effects. Participants were asked to consider ambiguous actions from either a first-person or a third-person perspective. Results revealed that third-person perspectives reduced judgments of personal responsibility for positive and negative actions. Perceptions of personal action execution as well as the perceived overlap between one's real and imagined self were identified as mediators of the reduced sense of responsibility that characterized negative, but not positive, events constructed from a third-person perspective.

AB - Perceiving oneself as agentic is dependent upon the integration of conscious intention, a corresponding outcome, and body-congruent sensorimotor information. Altering these critical cues, such as the vantage point from which an event is viewed, can have a notable impact on one's sense of agency, including an increased sense of ownership over another person's actions or a reduced sense of responsibility (or control) over one's own actions. In three studies, we investigated whether mentally simulated and written perspectives could have similar effects. Participants were asked to consider ambiguous actions from either a first-person or a third-person perspective. Results revealed that third-person perspectives reduced judgments of personal responsibility for positive and negative actions. Perceptions of personal action execution as well as the perceived overlap between one's real and imagined self were identified as mediators of the reduced sense of responsibility that characterized negative, but not positive, events constructed from a third-person perspective.

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DO - 10.1016/j.concog.2018.06.013

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JO - Consciousness and Cognition

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Tausen B, Miles L, Lawrie L, Macrae CN. It wasn’t me: The role of perspective in self-perceptions of responsibility. Consciousness and Cognition. 2018 Aug;63:89-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2018.06.013

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