Experience of agency and sense of responsibility

► We investigate the relation between the experience of operant action, and responsibility in moral context. ► This is the first paper to systematically manipulate significance of action and show effects on agency. ► Two distinct components of responsibility can modulate the experience of agency: context and severity action outcomes. ► Context and action outcomes have independent influence on the experience of agency. ► The increased sense of agency with increasing outcome severity reflects a reconstructive process of agency.