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About

Frederike Beyer is a cognitive scientist whose research sits at the compelling intersection of human psychology and human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on the sense of agency (SoA) — the subjective experience of controlling one's own actions and their consequences in the world. Beyer's most significant contribution lies in demonstrating that the psychological dynamics observed between humans in social settings extend meaningfully into interactions with robots. Her landmark 2019 paper, which has garnered 78 citations, reveals that attributing intentional agency to robots measurably reduces an individual's own sense of agency — a finding with profound implications for understanding responsibility diffusion in increasingly automated environments. This work builds on her earlier 2018 research exploring reduced SoA in human-robot interaction, collectively establishing her as a pioneering voice in how artificial agents reshape human self-perception and moral accountability. Beyer's findings carry real-world relevance for the design of robotic systems, autonomous technologies, and collaborative AI, raising critical questions about how human agency and responsibility are redistributed as machines become more socially present in our lives.