ERI: Investigate the Role of Affect in Fostering Trust in Automated Driving

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Dearborn, Dearborn MI

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) grant will support research that will contribute new knowledge related to the role of affect in trust in automated driving, promoting the relationships between human drivers and automated vehicles. The human mind has the affective and cognitive components. So does trust in automation, but affect is the primary determinant of trusting behavior. However, studies of affect on trust in automation are scarce. Therefore, it is critical to examine the role of affect in trust in automated vehicles. The overall objective of the project is to explore the role of affect in trust-based interaction in automated driving. In order to attain the overall objective, three integrated aims will be pursued, i.e., 1) build real-time trust prediction models using psychophysiological measures, 2) investigate the relations between affect and trust in automated vehicles, and 3) calibrate trust in automated vehicles using affect heuristics. Once relevant psychophysiological measures are identified, they can be used to build real-time trust prediction models and once the relationships between the latent structure of affect in trust-based interaction and trust in AVs are identified and the real-time trust prediction model is built, affect can help build and calibrate driver trust in AVs using affect heuristics. Hence, the results from this research will promote the progress of science and national health (e.g., preventing crashes) by advancing our understanding of bidirectional trust-based interaction in automated driving and beyond. First, this research will build real-time trust prediction models using psychophysiological measures, which can overcome the limitations of previous research that mainly measured trust once at the end of a session or twice as pre- and post- levels of trust, which did not reflect the dynamic nature of trust in automation. Second, this research will investigate the relations between affect and trust in automated vehicles by examining the latent structure of affective responses related to trust in automated driving and how affective responses are related to different aspects of trust. Third, this research will examine the role of affect by making use of affect heuristic in automated driving measured by both self-reported and psychophysiological data. Such research endeavors will help understand the role of affect in trust in automated driving. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.