Mobile App-Based Tracking of Daily Explicit and Implicit Sense of Agency Among Adults Living in Japan: Longitudinal...

Sense of agency (SoA) is the subjective experience of controlling one's actions and their effects in the world. SoA is important for behavioral change and goal achievement, and its measurement via digital devices has gained attention in health promotion and therapeutic interventions.

This study describes longitudinal changes and individual variations in general explicit sense of agency (GenExp-SoA) and local implicit sense of agency (LocalImp-SoA), measured in daily life using a mobile app, and examines their associations with demographic and personality traits.

One hundred adults in Japan participated in a 3-month, prospective observational survey, completing daily mobile app-based assessments of GenExp-SoA (using the Sense of Agency Scale) and LocalImp-SoA (using effect binding with the Libet clock method). Personality traits were measured via the Big Five questionnaire. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate longitudinal changes and interactions with personal characteristics for both types of SoA and their relationship. We also examined state persistence and cross-lagged effects using continuous-time structural equation modeling. A total of 13,391 paired observations were analyzed.

GenExp-SoA decreased over time (β=-0.008, P<.001). The decrease was notable for women (β=-0.019, P<.001) and participants with extraversion scores higher than the median (β=-0.019, P<.001). An increase was observed in those aged 50-59 years (β=0.023, P<.001). LocalImp-SoA also decreased (β=-0.003, P=.02), but its association with personal characteristics was limited. No significant association was found between the 2 forms of SoA. The variance patterns differed between measures, with a high intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.77 for GenExp-SoA and a very low intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.02 for LocalImp-SoA, indicating predominant within-individual variability for the latter. Continuous-time structural equation modeling showed stronger self-persistence for GenExp-SoA, minimal persistence for LocalImp-SoA, and negligible cross-lagged effects. Findings were robust in bootstrap and sensitivity analyses.

The 2 forms of SoA measured in daily life settings displayed distinct temporal patterns, as well as different associations with individual characteristics. These findings may inform the design and evaluation of epidemiological studies and digital health interventions targeting the SoA, including measurement strategies. The results support lower-frequency, between-individual assessments for explicit agency and high-frequency, within-individual designs for implicit agency.