Autonomy, Control & Perceived Independence 2026 (Dataset)
A de-identified open dataset (n=352) examining how digitally active adults experience autonomy, perceived control, and independence when interacting with digital and AI-mediated systems.
Measures include validated 1–7 Likert-scale instruments assessing perceived control, judgement confidence shifts, delegation patterns, nudging awareness, override behaviour, decision intervention thresholds, and reliance dynamics, alongside digital exposure metrics and standard demographic variables.
Part of the Human Clarity Institute’s Human–AI Experience Data Series.
Framework
HRL domain(s): Agency & Decision Autonomy, Trust & Epistemic Stability
Registry Construct Alignment: Agency, Decision dependence, Trust calibration
Listed constructs reflect longitudinal, registry-mapped item alignment and do not represent the full thematic scope of this dataset.
DOI and Repository Links
This dataset is archived in GitHub, Zenodo, and Figshare for long-term preservation.
Citation
APA
Human Clarity Institute. (2026).
Autonomy, Control & Perceived Independence 2026 (Dataset).
Human Clarity Institute.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18625765
BibTeX
@dataset{hci_autonomy_control_2026,
author = {Human Clarity Institute},
title = {Autonomy, Control & Perceived Independence 2026 (Dataset)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.18625765},
url = {https://humanclarityinstitute.com/datasets/autonomy-control-perceived-independence-2026/},
license = {CC-BY-4.0}
}
Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
You are free to share, adapt, and build upon this dataset for any purpose, including commercial use,
provided appropriate credit is given to the Human Clarity Institute.
Full licence text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Study Methodology
This dataset forms part of the Human Clarity Institute’s Human–AI Experience research programme, examining how people experience autonomy, control, and perceived independence when interacting with AI systems, how influence and nudging are perceived, and where boundaries around intervention, override, and decision ownership emerge. The study uses a cross-sectional online survey design and focuses on descriptive patterns in perceived control, nudging awareness, override confidence, regret following AI-influenced decisions, and decision intervention thresholds in digitally mediated life.
Data were collected via the Prolific research platform from adults across six English-speaking countries. Participants provided explicit informed consent for anonymous open publication as part of HCI’s open research programme.
Sampling & participants
- Clean dataset: 352 valid responses
- Countries: United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland
- Eligibility: Adults (18+) in English-speaking countries
- Recruitment platform: Prolific
- Anonymisation: Participant IDs removed; timestamps stripped; no direct identifiers retained
Study limitations
- The survey uses a non-probability convenience sample and is not nationally representative.
- Results are based on self-reported responses and reflect perceived experiences of autonomy, control, influence, and decision boundaries when using AI systems.
- The study uses a cross-sectional design, capturing responses at a single point in time.
- The dataset is descriptive and exploratory and does not support causal inference.
