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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Davit MarikyanORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
As a significant application of artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous technologies (ATs) free people from decision-making and task-completion but they take away the autonomy and control that used to belong to users. This research advances understanding of AT acceptance by conceptually distinguishing and empirically validating two related but previously conflated constructs: perceived loss of autonomy and perceived loss of personal control. We develop clear definitions and reliable measurement scales for both constructs following rigorous scale development procedures with multiple methods and samples. We then examine their effects across two AT contexts that differ in task orientation - autonomous driving (utility-oriented) and autonomous shopping (meaning-oriented) - using separate survey samples. Findings reveal that perceived loss of autonomy is salient when technologies take over meaning-oriented tasks (e.g., shopping), whereas perceived loss of personal control is more influential for utility-oriented tasks (e.g., driving). This research contributes to AT acceptance literature by distinguishing and refining the conceptualisation of loss of autonomy and loss of personal control, providing validated scales, and offering nuanced insights into how the effects of these two constructs vary by task orientation.
Author(s): Chen X, Slade E, Wang X, Marikyan D
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Psychology & Marketing
Year: 2026
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 15/05/2026
Acceptance date: 06/05/2026
Date deposited: 10/05/2026
ISSN (print): 0742-6046
ISSN (electronic): 1520-6793
Publisher: Wiley
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.70169
DOI: 10.1002/mar.70169
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/jac6-0d51
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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