Intentional binding (IB)—the perceived temporal compression between a voluntary action and its sensory consequence—has widely served as an implicit proxy for the sense of agency. However, its validity is increasingly questioned due to methodological discrepancies between measurements, as well as reported dissociation from explicit agency judgments. This review critically re-examines IB not merely as an agency index but as a multifaceted perceptual phenomenon. We synthesize findings on key modulators and evaluate diverse explanatory models, ranging from attentional biases and pre-activation accounts to cue integration frameworks. While these theories offer valuable insights, current evidence suggests that no single mechanism fully accounts for the phenomenon. We conclude that IB captures a combination of perceptual and cognitive processes. Future research should prioritize exploring the perceptual foundations of IB rather than solely using it as an index. Unveiling these underlying mechanisms will pave the way for its appropriate application as a measure of agency.

This study examined the relation between sex categorization to motion-evoked masculinity and femininity impressions in side-view point-light walkers (PLWs). Thirty-two observers viewed 40 PLWs (20 male, 20 female) and completed three separate blocks, judging whether each PLW looked masculine (yes/no), feminine (yes/no), and male or female. We analyzed the proportion of “male” responses (0–1, based on 10 trials per participant×PLW) using a binomial-logit generalized linear mixed model with random intercepts for the participants and PLWs. Masculinity perception ratings were positively associated with “male” responses (OR=1.25), whereas femininity perception ratings were negatively associated (OR=0.62). The association between femininity perception ratings and sex perception was relatively stronger than that for masculinity perception ratings in the present task and stimulus conditions. We incorporated the within-observer correlation between masculinity and femininity perception ratings as a continuous moderator; the masculinity perception effect varied with this index, whereas the femininity perception effect was stable. Thus, the correspondence between gender perception and sex perception can be asymmetric for side-view PLWs with limited structural cues.