How much control do you have over your own life? Can you effectively choose between several different paths, or is the course of your life set by your circumstances? What about the guy next to you—would you answer the same way about him? You wouldn't, according to two Princeton researchers. The results of their study, published in PNAS last week, show that people believe they have more free will than their peers do.

In a classical sense, the term "free will" refers to the concept that people have control over their decisions. Their actions cannot be predicted a priori, they have the ability to choose between multiple options, and their behavior is determined by their personal beliefs and goals rather than their circumstances or their personality