Elements of Free Will Belief: Self-Enhancement, Autonomy, and Similarity

Research has offered limited insight into the psychological elements associated with free will beliefs. Self-enhancement, uncertainty intolerance, and self-other similarity are among the widely researched phenomena that appear relevant. We explore the connections between these phenomena and free will beliefs. In a first study, we find minimal to no better-than-average self-enhancement in three different facets of their free will beliefs: free will proper, indeterminism, and dualism. Participants’ uncertainty intolerance is negatively associated with beliefs in indeterminism, a finding that may be explained by an increase in perceived autonomy. A reanalysis of cross-national data supports this assumption. In a second study, we find support for an indirect form of self-enhancement in that participants perceive target individuals positively on the dimensions of competence and morality inasmuch the target’s free will beliefs match their own.