中国科学院心理研究所机构知识库

人类通过行为与环境发生交互作用.主动控制感指通过控制自己行为进而控制外部环境的主观体验,为责任归属的产生奠定了基础.本文梳理了主动控制感的影响因素、脑机制及其对责任归属的启示.个体行为中的主动控制感和责任易受到动作意图、结果效价及其相互关系的影响.群体行为中,控制感产生和责任归属与群体身份、社会地位等因素有关.控制感水平的测量在一定程度上能为道德和法律提供责任界定的依据.进一步关联主动控制感与责任归属需更关注负责动作意图和结果觉察加工的额-顶脑网络,如前辅助运动区、后侧顶叶、颞顶联合区等脑区.未来的研究需提高测量的信效度,并探索将主动控制感应用于道德与法律领域的可行性.

The sense of agency refers to subjective experience of controlling external environment through voluntary actions. When individuals interact with the outside world through their behaviors, the feeling of “I am the initiator of this action” may induce a self-attributed responsibility. Moreover, a sense of agency may allow individuals to choose between different options by predicting their consequences. Therefore, the ability to control one’s own behavior can be used as an index for responsibility attribution in moral and legal fields. Here, we review the factors influencing sense of agency and responsibility attribution. Some empirical studies highlight the intention of actions and the value of outcomes. The intention is a prerequisite for sense of agency and responsibility, and the characteristics of subsequent events affect how we perceive our behaviors. Other studies support the internal comparator model, which suggests that the match between prediction based on efferent copy of motor command and actual sensory feedback is the premise of sense of agency. In joint actions, the generation and level of sense of agency and responsibility are related to group identity, social status and other factors. When two individuals cooperate as equals in the management of an event, the new identity of “we” is a force that results in a sense of control over their partners’ behavior. But participating as a follower in the teamwork, being in the presence of another agent (even if it has no causal effect on the outcome) will lead to a reduction in or disappearance of the sense of agency. The fundamental assumption of law is that individuals have the ability to control their own behaviors and are responsible for their actions and the consequences of those actions. Following this supposition, the factors that affect sense of agency can also have effect on the responsibility attribution. The level of sense of agency can be used to explain sentences pardoned or commuted. Therefore, disorders of brain activities could be taken into account by the court in sentencing. Neuroimaging studies have highlighted the role of fronto-parietal network, including pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), posterior parietal cortex (PPC), temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and etc. One possible mechanism may be that the frontal cortex generates the action signals of selection, intent and initiation, while the parietal lobe, acting as a comparator model, monitors and compares these signals with the actual feedbacks. The TPJ and DLPFC play important roles in self-referential processing and the theory of mind task, and are also involved in the judgement of moral and criminal responsibility. Future investigations need to explore the activation patterns and functional connectivity of these brain regions under different levels of sense of agency and responsibility, to qualify and quantify the levels of individuals’ control over their behaviors.

国家重点研发计划(2017YFC0822501,2018AAA0100205);; 国家自然科学基金中德合作项目(61621136008);; 国家社会科学基金重大项目(19ZDA363);; 国家自然科学基金(31400876)资助