Shared credit for shared success: Successful joint performance strengthens the sense of joint agency

When people perform joint actions together, they experience a sense of joint agency, or shared control over actions and their effects. The current study examined how internal and external cues related to the success of a joint action influence joint agency. In three experiments, partners coordinated their actions to produce eight-tone sequences that matched a metronome pace. Across experiments, more successful joint performance (closer match to required pace) elicited stronger feelings of joint agency. This relationship was evident whether participants rated their control over sequence timing or responsibility for task outcome. Furthermore, the relationship was stronger when participants received external cues to joint success compared to when participants could rely only on internal cues. These findings indicate that people derive their sense of joint agency from success at the level of the dyad and that cues to joint agency may be weighted according to their salience in a given context.