Metacognition of agency is reduced in high hypnotic suggestibility

- We assessed if highly suggestible (HS) individuals have poor metacognition of agency.
- HS and control participants completed a task in which motor control was manipulated.
- The groups did not differ in performance or metacognition of performance.
- HS participants reported greater control, but only when their control was reduced.
- Highly suggestible individuals' sense of agency is less sensitive to manipulation.

A disruption in the sense of agency is the primary phenomenological feature of response to hypnotic suggestions but its cognitive basis remains elusive. Here we tested the proposal that distorted volition during response to suggestions arises from poor metacognition pertaining to the sources of one's control. Highly suggestible and control participants completed a motor task in which performance was reduced through surreptitious manipulations of cursor lag and stimuli speed. Highly suggestible participants did not differ from controls in performance or metacognition of performance, but their sense of agency was less sensitive to cursor lag manipulations, suggesting reduced awareness that their control was being manipulated. These results indicate that highly suggestible individuals have aberrant metacognition of agency and may be a valuable population for studying distortions in the sense of agency.