Whilst completing my PhD, I conducted complex and highly novel research project to assess the intricate connection between the sense of agency and group flow in the context of joint action. Joint action, a pivotal aspect of our social interactions, involves a multitude of cognitive mechanisms that generate unique and often deeply rewarding subjective experiences. My objective was to unravel the fundamental factors underlying joint agency and to elucidate why individuals feel a sense of shared agency rather than individual agency when engaged in collaborative activities. To accomplish this, I employed a virtual herding task as the experimental paradigm, wherein two participants collaboratively herded a group of virtual sheep into a central containment area within a simulated game environment. Each participant controlled a sheep-dog within the game-space using a handheld puck, while the sheep were programmed to flee from the sheep-dog, enabling the participants to collectively corral them into the containment space.
My hypothesis posited a positive correlation between the sense of agency and task performance. Furthermore, I anticipated that the agentic state would be linked to movement behaviour, whereby an augmented sense of joint agency would be observed when participants' movements exhibited characteristics indicative of a coupled oscillatory movement strategy. Additionally, I predicted that group flow would be influenced by participants' movement behaviour, with a greater sense of group flow reported when their movements aligned with a coupled oscillatory movement strategy. Moreover, I expected a positive correlation between the sense of agency and group flow. Lastly, I hypothesized that experiences of shared agency would be heightened during episodes of group flow compared to individual agency.
To explore these hypotheses, I recruited a total of 54 participants from the Goldsmiths community, forming 27 pairs of subjects. Utilizing the virtual herding task, I assessed the relationship between agency and flow during joint action by employing self-report measures that tapped into the cognitive mechanisms underlying these phenomena. Participants completed a series of self-report measures comprising three surveys and several single-point questions. The first survey employed the short version of the Flow State Scale - 2, which gauged the experience of flow. The second survey utilized the Flow Synchronization Scale, encompassing five subcomponents that evaluated group flow. The third survey employed the Sense of Agency Scale, which encompassed two sub-components: Sense of Positive Agency and Sense of Negative Agency. Finally, participants responded to four questions aimed at capturing their experiences of control and harmony.
The findings of my study revealed a significant positive correlation between the sense of agency and task performance. This suggests that a heightened sense of agency contributes to improved performance in joint action contexts. Furthermore, I discovered a notable correlation between the agentic state and movement behaviour, demonstrating that participants experienced a greater sense of joint agency when their movements exhibited characteristics indicative of a coupled oscillatory movement strategy. This aligns with the notion that movement synchronization plays a pivotal role in fostering shared agency during collaborative activities. Moreover, I observed that group flow was influenced by participants' movement behaviour, with heightened levels of group flow reported when their movements displayed indications of a coupled oscillatory movement strategy.
Importantly, my research unveiled a positive correlation between the sense of agency and group flow, suggesting that these two constructs are intertwined and mutually reinforcing during joint action. Finally, I discovered that experiences of shared agency were more prevalent during episodes of group flow compared to individual agency, underscoring the vital role of group flow in facilitating a collective sense of agency.
In conclusion, my study delved into the captivating domain of joint action, shedding light on the intricate relationship between the sense of agency and group flow. By employing a virtual herding task and employing a range of self-report measures, I unravelled the various factors influencing the emergence of joint agency and its connection to the phenomenon of group flow. These findings deepen our understanding of human behaviour and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying collaborative experiences.
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