Direction or speed discontinuities are perceived as loss of control or failure
Aliases: trajectory discontinuity · fault attribution · loss-of-control perception
What it is
Motion discontinuity attribution is the tendency to interpret an unannounced turn, acceleration, braking event, or oscillation as loss of control, perception error, or mechanical failure. A legitimate replan remains indistinguishable from an anomaly without an external cause cue.
Why it happens
Continuous motion establishes expectations about future position and controller stability. A discontinuity violates both. A change following a visible obstacle supports an avoidance explanation; an uncaused change resembles failure. Repeated reversals expose a planner oscillating between alternatives and reduce confidence in what follows.
Studying it
Discontinuity magnitude, visible trigger, and recovery can be varied while measuring causal attribution, trust, withdrawal, stop requests, and prediction. Kinematics should come from logs, with one-off replans separated from persistent oscillation. Interviews should ask why the motion changed rather than using comfort alone.
Where it stops holding
Emergency avoidance, external disturbance, and new human commands can justify discontinuity. Experts may infer context unavailable to bystanders. Cosmetic smoothing must not disguise a genuine failure or delay intervention.
Applying it
- Classify discontinuities as normal avoidance, external command, uncertain replan, or control anomaly, giving each a distinct state cue.
- Detect repeated reversals and speed oscillation, then slow, stop, or request help rather than replanning indefinitely.
- Replay real events to operators and assess correct attribution, intervention timing, and unnecessary stops.
Related
- Same group: X2.05.1 Constant and gradual motion is easier to predict than sudden acceleration · X2.05.3 Unavoidable discontinuities require a perceptible warning · X2.05.4 Predictability directly trades off against task efficiency
- Adjacent: X3.03 Truthful expression · X3.04 Failure and help-seeking
- Search terms:
motion discontinuity·fault attribution·planner oscillation