Factors that affect trust and reliance on an automated aid

Abstract

Previous research efforts aimed at understanding the relationship between automation reliability and reliance on the automation have mainly focused on a single dimension of reliability, the automations error rate. Efforts to understand the effects of additional dimensions, such as types of errors, have merely provided suggestions about the effects that automation false alarms and misses can have on human behavior). Furthermore, other dimensions of reliability, such as the distribution of errors in time, have been almost completely ignored. A multi-task simulation of an agricultural vehicle was used in this investigation. The simulator was composed of two main tasks, a collision avoidance task and a tracking task. The collision avoidance task was supported by an imperfect automated collision avoidance system and the tracking task was performed manually. The results of this investigation indicated that there are distinct patterns of reliance that develop as a function of error type, which are dependent on the state of the automation (alarms or non-alarms). The different distributions of errors across time had an effect on the estimates of reliability and subjective trust ratings. The recency of errors was negatively related to perceived reliability and trust. The results of the current investigation also suggest that older adults are able to adjust their behavior according to the characteristics of the automation, although it takes them longer to do so. Furthermore, it appears that older adults are willing to use automated systems, as long as they are reliable enough to reduce workload.