Free Will and Agency
Free Will and Agency is a research topic within Cognitive Neuroscience. Science Explorer counts 10k research works in it since 1950. 18.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the neural correlates and abnormalities related to the sense of agency, voluntary action, conscious awareness, and decision making, with a focus on conditions such as schizophrenia. It also delves into the philosophical implications of free will and moral responsibility in the context of motor cognition and predictive processes.
- Sense of Agency
- Voluntary Action
- Conscious Awareness
- Neural Correlates
- Schizophrenia
- Free Will
- Motor Cognition
- Auditory Cortex
- Predictive Processes
- Responsibility
- Research works
- 10k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 2k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 18.9% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +20% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Free Will and Agency research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (530 and 249 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 530 works
- 2 United Kingdom 249 works
- 3 Germany 145 works
- 4 China 59 works
- 5 Netherlands 53 works
- 6 Canada 52 works
- 7 Italy 51 works
- 8 Japan 47 works
- 9 Australia 46 works
- 10 Sweden 44 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Free Will and Agency research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Oxford publishes the most Free Will and Agency research, followed by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and University of Glasgow.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of Oxford United Kingdom 33 works
- 2 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Germany 17 works
- 3 University of Glasgow United Kingdom 15 works
- 4 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 14 works
- 5 Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel 13 works
- 6 Florida State University United States 12 works
- 7 University of Vienna Austria 11 works
- 8 University College London United Kingdom 11 works
- 9 University of Zurich Switzerland 11 works
- 10 Lund University Sweden 10 works
Who are the leading researchers in Free Will and Agency?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Free Will and Agency include Roy F. Baumeister and Cass R. Sunstein.
- 1 Roy F. Baumeister 3.6k citations
- 2 Cass R. Sunstein 2.5k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Free Will and Agency research done?
The largest centres of Free Will and Agency research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Oxford (United Kingdom), New York (United States) and Munich (Germany). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Oxford.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- OxfordGB · 40.3 works13×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Free Will and Agency than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Free Will and Agency?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Oxford, University of Glasgow and Uppsala University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Oxford United Kingdom | 71.6 | 23.0% | 15.4× | 33 | +12.9% |
| 2 | University of Glasgow United Kingdom | 70.8 | 35.5% | 15.3× | 15 | +47.3% |
| 3 | Uppsala University Sweden | 69.3 | 31.6% | 9.7× | 8 | +263.1% |
| 4 | Stockholm University Sweden | 62.0 | 33.1% | 14.8× | 8 | +49.8% |
| 5 | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Germany | 61.6 | 11.7% | 16.3× | 17 | +449.7% |
| 6 | University of Groningen Netherlands | 60.9 | 33.6% | 10.2× | 8 | -0.3% |
| 7 | University of Zurich Switzerland | 59.4 | 22.1% | 11.7× | 10 | +72.0% |
| 8 | University of Vienna Austria | 57.9 | 25.6% | 13.4× | 11 | +30.5% |
| 9 | London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom | 56.4 | 30.0% | 23.5× | 10 | +1.9% |
| 10 | University of Edinburgh United Kingdom | 54.3 | 41.4% | 7.3× | 9 | +12.2% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Free Will and Agency research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 20% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are Free Will and Agency.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.