Autonomy: Meaning, Psychology, & Research

By the time a child is two years old, and certainly by the time they are approaching that third birthday, they are usually putting those verbal skills to quite a lot of use. Not for nothing is this developmental stage often called the “terrible twos” – kids this age are truly enjoying the ability to tell the world what they want and how they think things should be.

From this developmental point onward, in fact, people are constantly trying to exert control or influence over their environments to achieve their goals. They are exercising their abilities to assert autonomy – to freely and intentionally direct the course of their lives. The nature of autonomy has fascinated philosophers and psychologists for many years, so let’s see what the scientific literature has to say about the topic.

Philosophers distinguish between autonomous functioning in general – the kind that happens automatically – and the aspects of psychological autonomy that seem particular or even unique to humans (Chirkov, 2011). For example, all beings, by pursuing whatever they need to survive and reproduce, exercise autonomy. They are imposing their will on their environments in order to meet their goals. Humans do this too, obviously (and with more impact on their environment than any other species, I might add), but we also do it with additional layers of complexity.
 
To have autonomy as a human being means several things (Chirkov, 2011). First, one must have awareness of one’s thoughts and emotions and be able to see where they come from. For example, suppose my friends invite me out to dinner, and I notice myself thinking “I really ought to go”. Why is that? Is it because I’ve been self-isolating and need social connection? Is it because I don’t want to be left out, even though I’m feeling tired tonight? Or is it because I’m worried that I will overeat and waste the evening on Netflix if I don’t join them? These are important distinctions to make because exercising autonomy means being able to freely choose whether to follow a particular urge or idea. Perhaps the first explanation seems like a good reason to go, but the other two don’t seem like good reasons.

Autonomy & Awareness
Autonomy also requires awareness and consideration of social and cultural norms and expectations. If I am not aware of which social forces are at play in a situation, I cannot make a rational and fully informed decision about the situation. Suppose the group of friends inviting me out to dinner likes to stay out late, hopping from one bar to the next and drinking a lot; knowing this can help me effectively choose whether I want to subject myself to these social expectations or prepare myself to assert my own preferences if I do join them out on the town.
 
Third, people who are autonomous create their own goals and values for themselves. They draw inspiration from other people and allow other people’s needs to matter, but they try to live by and pursue their goals and values even (or especially) when it may inconvenience other people. So, if I’ve had an incredibly busy week, am short on sleep, and value my own health very highly, I might turn down my friends’ invitation, even though I know they will be disappointed. Finally, autonomy means recognizing the goals and values of other people and trying our best not to compromise those at the same time.
 
Autonomy Is Acting Mindfully
To summarize, autonomy is the ability to act mindfully, with reflection and awareness and with rational appraisal of one’s own needs and the needs of others (Chirkov, 2011). Only with all of these components in place can we truly exercise self-determination (Pfander, 1967), which might be the best synonym for autonomy I can think of.
 
Autonomy & Self-Determination
How self-determining are we? Certainly, it can feel at times as though life is throwing us one curveball after another, and we are simply reacting—not exercising any kind of free will. Perhaps an extreme example can drive this idea of self-determination home. Suppose somebody stops you on the street late at night as you are walking home and demands your wallet or purse. Even in a moment like this, you can respond autonomously to the situation. If you consider all of the options, take into account your own values, and choose a course of action that feels right to you, you are still exercising autonomy (Pfander, 1967).
 
In other words, even simply complying with the wishes of another person, if you freely choose to do so, is an act of autonomy (Ricoeur, 1966). Sexual consent, as we understand it today, comes to mind here: when somebody openly and enthusiastically consents to a sexual activity, that too is autonomy in action.

Autonomy is often considered a fundamental human right, and therefore, an important part of behaving ethically (Gillon, 2003). For example, healthcare providers want to know that clients are given all the information they need to make rational and fully informed decisions; to withhold relevant information from patients would be considered unethical. 

From a moral standpoint, it is often considered unethical to deprive people of their autonomy unless there can be very strong justification for their decision. For example, as a psychotherapist, I am empowered to recommend that a client be hospitalized against their will, but only if I can demonstrate that there is an immediate and high likelihood that the person will harm themself or somebody else.

In this article, I have been talking about self-autonomy almost exclusively, as opposed to, for example, political autonomy. The research is quite clear that the more people are self-determining, the more benefits they experience. For example, a meta-analysis found that, across many cultures and demographic categories, people who had more autonomy of self were more prosocial – they had more positive connections with other people and acted with more altruism and less selfishness (Donald et al., 2021).

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