Calibration of Trust Expectancies in Conditionally Automated Driving by Brand, Reliability Information and Introductionary Videos: An Online Study

The design of a priori information about a conditionally automated driving (CAD) function influences the extent of effective usage of this function. The present online study investigated the effects of preliminary reliability and brand information on trust and acceptance for CAD. N = 519 participants were randomly assigned to (1) a reliability condition (high or low) and (2) an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) reputation condition (i.e., above average, average, below average, baseline). To measure the effect of CAD experience, participants were additionally exposed to four short videos of a driver interacting with a CAD function. Study results provide first evidence for an influence of OEM branding and reliability on CAD evaluation. We observed a trend towards more favorable attitudes for high compared to low reliability. This effect depends on the respective OEM reputation. The findings hold implications for the design of communication on automated vehicles to calibrate a priori assessment.