The sense of agency in near and far space: where do we stand?

Modern technology frequently places the consequences of our actions at a distance (e.g. remote surgery, smart-home control, virtual reality). Does spatial distance between an action and its outcome weaken the sense of agency (SoA) - the feeling of control over one's actions and consequences? Two recent studies, by Jenkins and Obhi and Mariano et al., answered "yes," reporting stronger temporal binding (TB) in near than far space and interpreting this as greater implicit agency. A third study - our own work with a similar paradigm - found no distance effect. Here we (i) provide a rigorous side-by-side methodological comparison of the three studies, (ii) argue why a direct test to establish a distance modulation of TB (the Near - Far difference of the Active - Passive delta) should be performed in order to reach meaningful conclusions, and (iii) report new reanalyses of our data and direct tests on the two target studies. Overall, current evidence does not support a distance effect on SoA. Our reassessment provides alternative explanations that converge with available evidence suggesting that distance may influence temporal interval perception, but that effect is independent of action intention and therefore of agency.