I Really did That: Sense of Agency with Touchpad, Keyboard, and On-skin Interaction

Input on the skin is emerging as an interaction style. At CHI 2012, Coyle and colleagues identified an increase in the sense of agency (SoA) as one benefit of skin input. However, their study only compared skin input to button presses and has not, to our knowledge, been replicated. Therefore, we had 24 participants compare skin input to both button presses and touch-pad input, measuring SoA using the Libet Clock paradigm. We replicate previous findings regarding increased SoA in skin versus button input and also find that SoA for skin is significantly increased compared to touch-pad input. Interview data addressing subjective experience further support these findings. We discuss agency and the experiences associated with skin input, as well as differences to input with non-skin devices.