Age(ncy) differences: Age-related changes in the use of sense of agency cues.

Authorship ratings were higher for congruent than for incongruent action-effect associations in both age groups.

• Participants learned to associate keypresses with positively and negatively valenced effects (positive or negative smileys) before the experimental phase.
• In the experimental phase, smileys were either congruent or incongruent with previously acquired action-effect associations.
• The congruency effect on authorship ratings was observed in both younger (18-28 years) and older (65-75 years) adults.
• This finding indicates that the use of action-effect congruency as an agency cue is age-independent.

Authorship ratings were higher for positively valenced effects than for negatively valenced effects in both age groups.

• Effects were either positive smileys or negative smileys presented following keypresses.
• Both younger adults (18-28 years) and older adults (65-75 years) showed higher authorship ratings for positive than negative smileys.
• This finding indicates that the use of affective valence of the effect as an agency cue is age-independent.

Authorship ratings decreased with increasing action-effect interval in younger adults but not in older adults.

• The experiment manipulated the temporal relation between action (keypress) and effect (smiley) using different intervals.
• Younger adults (18-28 years) showed a decrease in authorship ratings as the action-effect interval increased.
• Older adults (65-75 years) did not show a similar decrease in authorship ratings with increasing action-effect interval.
• This age-related difference in temporal cue use is attributed to 'age-related differences in cue integration.'
• This finding indicates that older adults may rely less on temporal cues than younger adults.

The study investigated three sense of agency cues — action-effect congruency, affective valence, and temporal relation — across two distinct age groups.

• Younger adults were aged 18-28 years and older adults were aged 65-75 years.
• Participants were told that smiley occurrence was either caused by their keypress or automatically generated by the computer, independent of their keypress.
• In each trial, participants indicated how sure they were that they caused the effect via authorship ratings.
• A learning phase preceded the experimental phase in which participants first acquired action-effect associations.