Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR

Haoyun Zhao; Zhonghao Zhu; Wenxin Hu; Yue Liu

doi:10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269

Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR

Haoyun Zhao
, Zhonghao Zhu
, Wenxin Hu^*
, Yue Liu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Optics and Photonics

Beijing Institute of Technology
Shenzhen MSU-BIT University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

Sense of Agency (SoA) is vital for VR user experience, yet the interplay between environmental emotion and autonomy remains unclear. This study investigates how free choice vs. forced action impacts SoA across three emotional contexts (stressful, relaxing, neutral) using Intentional Binding, the SoA Scale, and PANAS. Results show free choice significantly enhances both implicit and explicit SoA. Notably, a marginally significant interaction suggests stressful environments may amplify SoA loss when autonomy is deprived. These findings reveal how environmental emotions regulate perceived control, offering theoretical guidance for balancing atmosphere and user agency in immersive VR design.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	1189-1190
Number of pages	2
ISBN (Electronic)	9798319505293
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269
Publication status	Published - 2026
Event	2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026 - Daegu, Korea, Republic of Duration: 21 Mar 2026 → 25 Mar 2026

Publication series

Name	Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026

Conference

Conference	2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026
Country/Territory	Korea, Republic of
City	Daegu
Period	21/03/26 → 25/03/26

Keywords

Human-Computer Interaction
Intentional Binding
Sense of Agency
Virtual Reality

Access to Document

10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269

Cite this

Zhao, H., Zhu, Z., Hu, W., & Liu, Y. (2026). Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR. In Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026 (pp. 1189-1190). (Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269

Zhao, Haoyun ; Zhu, Zhonghao ; Hu, Wenxin et al. / Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR. Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026. pp. 1189-1190 (Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026).

@inproceedings{788e2df46c7a443aaa0125e8c2d4af8c,

title = "Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR",

abstract = "Sense of Agency (SoA) is vital for VR user experience, yet the interplay between environmental emotion and autonomy remains unclear. This study investigates how free choice vs. forced action impacts SoA across three emotional contexts (stressful, relaxing, neutral) using Intentional Binding, the SoA Scale, and PANAS. Results show free choice significantly enhances both implicit and explicit SoA. Notably, a marginally significant interaction suggests stressful environments may amplify SoA loss when autonomy is deprived. These findings reveal how environmental emotions regulate perceived control, offering theoretical guidance for balancing atmosphere and user agency in immersive VR design.",

keywords = "Human-Computer Interaction, Intentional Binding, Sense of Agency, Virtual Reality",

author = "Haoyun Zhao and Zhonghao Zhu and Wenxin Hu and Yue Liu",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 IEEE.; 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026 ; Conference date: 21-03-2026 Through 25-03-2026",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269",

language = "English",

series = "Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026",

publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.",

pages = "1189--1190",

booktitle = "Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026",

address = "United States",

}

Zhao, H, Zhu, Z, Hu, W & Liu, Y 2026, Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR. in Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026. Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 1189-1190, 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026, Daegu, Korea, Republic of, 21/03/26. https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269

Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR. / Zhao, Haoyun; Zhu, Zhonghao; Hu, Wenxin et al.
Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026. p. 1189-1190 (Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR

AU - Zhao, Haoyun

AU - Zhu, Zhonghao

AU - Hu, Wenxin

AU - Liu, Yue

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - Sense of Agency (SoA) is vital for VR user experience, yet the interplay between environmental emotion and autonomy remains unclear. This study investigates how free choice vs. forced action impacts SoA across three emotional contexts (stressful, relaxing, neutral) using Intentional Binding, the SoA Scale, and PANAS. Results show free choice significantly enhances both implicit and explicit SoA. Notably, a marginally significant interaction suggests stressful environments may amplify SoA loss when autonomy is deprived. These findings reveal how environmental emotions regulate perceived control, offering theoretical guidance for balancing atmosphere and user agency in immersive VR design.

AB - Sense of Agency (SoA) is vital for VR user experience, yet the interplay between environmental emotion and autonomy remains unclear. This study investigates how free choice vs. forced action impacts SoA across three emotional contexts (stressful, relaxing, neutral) using Intentional Binding, the SoA Scale, and PANAS. Results show free choice significantly enhances both implicit and explicit SoA. Notably, a marginally significant interaction suggests stressful environments may amplify SoA loss when autonomy is deprived. These findings reveal how environmental emotions regulate perceived control, offering theoretical guidance for balancing atmosphere and user agency in immersive VR design.

KW - Human-Computer Interaction

KW - Intentional Binding

KW - Sense of Agency

KW - Virtual Reality

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038619146

U2 - 10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269

DO - 10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:105038619146

T3 - Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026

SP - 1189

EP - 1190

BT - Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026

PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

T2 - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026

Y2 - 21 March 2026 through 25 March 2026

ER -

Zhao H, Zhu Z, Hu W, Liu Y. Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR. In Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2026. p. 1189-1190. (Proceedings - 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2026). doi: 10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00269

Investigation into the Effects of Autonomy and Emotional Environments on Sense of Agency in VR

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