(see also: ‘local agency‘ and ‘global agency‘)
the capacity of an entity (a person or other entity) to act in, and influence, an artificial environment
Agency is a key contributor to enabling a state of presence in the experiencer.
As Will Storr notes in his book Selfie, it is a basic human need to want to engage with the environment and assert one’s will:
Humans just can’t stop themselves being the causer of effects. Psychologists describe the ‘effectance motive’ - as ‘almost as basic a need as food and water’.1
1. Storr, W. (2017) Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It’s Doing to Us. Picador; Air Iri OME edition. Pg 99.