Am I in control? The dynamics of sensory information, performance feedback, and personality in shaping the sense of control

Abstract

Sense of control (SoC) over our actions is crucial for regulating our behavior. SoC arises from low-level processes, such as immediate sensory feedback, and high-level processes, such as performance evaluation. Studies using simple action-effect tasks suggest that people rely more on low-level sensory than on high-level cues of control. Yet, it remains unclear how these cues interact to shape the SoC in complex, goal-directed environments that require continuous behavioral adaptation. To investigate this, 50 participants performed a challenging motor control task akin to a video game, steering a spaceship along a continuously changing path. Sensorimotor control was manipulated by varying task difficulty via input noise across experimental blocks. After each trial, participants received negative, neutral, or positive feedback, followed by rating of their SoC. Linear mixed model analyses revealed that both sensory and evaluative feedback influenced the SoC. SoC decreased with increasing task difficulty. Furthermore, independent of difficulty, negative feedback reduced the SoC whereas positive feedback enhanced it, with a stronger effect for negative feedback. Notably, the effects of task difficulty and negative feedback were influenced by participants’ depressive symptoms and their external locus of control, suggesting that generalized control beliefs modulate task-specific control experience. These findings indicate that SoC is informed by both low-level sensorimotor cues and high-level affective feedback, suggesting an integration of multiple types of information to assess control in dynamic task contexts where action-effect contingencies are extended over time. Crucially, these effects depend on trait-like control beliefs, highlighting the need to account for individual differences when investigating situated control experience.