Weighting models and weighting factors

We defend our multifactorial weighting model of the sense of agency and our critique of the comparator model (Synofzik, Vosgerau, & Newen, 2008) against the critiques that have been brought forward by Carruthers (2012) and Wong (2012). Building on the specification of our model that emerges from this response, we will suggest a distinct mechanism how weighting of different agency factors might work: internal and external agency cues are constantly weighted according to their reliability in a given situation. Thus, the weighting process underlying the sense of agency might follow the principles of optimal cue integration. We review recent empirical evidence for this hypothesis, demonstrating that the multifactorial weighting model is not only testable, but has in fact already received first empirical support.