Selfhood-attribution in a social context: further evidence for a Pars-Pro-Toto account

The missing effects of agency are discussed as reflecting how sociality might be construed vis-à-vis individual goal pursuit. The interplay between sociality and individuality might be linked to our perception of agency in other agents when these are part of a group. The results are further discussed in light of the increasing presence of robots and other artificial agents in everyday life, as they support a shift in focus from their actual capabilities toward what people's expectations of these systems are. We stress that it is important to consider technological systems in their social relation to people as they tend to attribute complex concepts such as selfhood even when only perceiving simple behavioral cues.