Group trust dynamics during a risky driving experience in a Tesla Model X.

The growing concern about the risk and safety of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has made it vital to understand driver trust and behavior when operating AVs. While research has uncovered human factors and design issues based on individual driver performance, there remains a lack of insight into how trust in automation evolves in groups of people who face risk and uncertainty while traveling in AVs. To this end, we conducted a naturalistic experiment with groups of participants who were encouraged to engage in conversation while riding a Tesla Model X on campus roads. Our methodology was uniquely suited to uncover these issues through naturalistic interaction by groups in the face of a risky driving context. Conversations were analyzed, revealing several themes pertaining to trust in automation: (1) collective risk perception, (2) experimenting with automation, (3) group sense-making, (4) human-automation interaction issues, and (5) benefits of automation. Our findings highlight the untested and experimental nature of AVs and confirm serious concerns about the safety and readiness of this technology for on-road use. The process of determining appropriate trust and reliance in AVs will therefore be essential for drivers and passengers to ensure the safe use of this experimental and continuously changing technology. Revealing insights into social group-vehicle interaction, our results speak to the potential dangers and ethical challenges with AVs as well as provide theoretical insights on group trust processes with advanced technology.

Spiritual over physical formidability determines willingness to fight and sacrifice through loyalty in cross-cultural populations.

Across 11 studies involving six countries from four continents (n = 3,285), we extend insights from field investigations in conflict zones to offline and online surveys to show that personal spiritual formidability-the conviction and immaterial resources (values, strengths of beliefs, character) of a person to fight-is positively associated with the will to fight and sacrifice for others. The physical formidability of groups in conflict has long been promoted as the primary factor in human decisions to fight or flee in times of conflict. Here, studies in Spain, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Morocco reveal that personal spiritual formidability, a construct distinct from religiosity, is more strongly associated with the willingness to fight and make costly self-sacrifices for the group than physical formidability. A follow-on study among cadets of the US Air Force Academy further indicates that this effect is mediated by a stronger loyalty to the group, a finding replicated in a separate study with a European sample. The results demonstrate that personal spiritual formidability is a primary determinant of the will to fight across cultures, and this individual-level factor, propelled by loyal bonds made with others, disposes citizens and combatants to fight at great personal risk.

Designing Man's New Best Friend: Enhancing Human-Robot Dog Interaction through Dog-Like Framing and Appearance.

To understand how to improve interactions with dog-like robots, we evaluated the importance of "dog-like" framing and physical appearance on interaction, hypothesizing multiple interactive benefits of each. We assessed whether framing Aibo as a puppy (i.e., in need of development) versus simply a robot would result in more positive responses and interactions. We also predicted that adding fur to Aibo would make it appear more dog-like, likable, and interactive. Twenty-nine participants engaged with Aibo in a 2 × 2 (framing × appearance) design by issuing commands to the robot. Aibo and participant behaviors were monitored per second, and evaluated via an analysis of commands issued, an analysis of command blocks (i.e., chains of commands), and using a T-pattern analysis of participant behavior. Participants were more likely to issue the "Come Here" command than other types of commands. When framed as a puppy, participants used Aibo's dog name more often, praised it more, and exhibited more unique, interactive, and complex behavior with Aibo. Participants exhibited the most smiling and laughing behaviors with Aibo framed as a puppy without fur. Across conditions, after interacting with Aibo, participants felt Aibo was more trustworthy, intelligent, warm, and connected than at their initial meeting. This study shows the benefits of introducing a socially robotic agent with a particular frame and importance on realism (i.e., introducing the robot dog as a puppy) for more interactive engagement.

Robot Authority in Human-Robot Teaming: Effects of Human-Likeness and Physical Embodiment on Compliance.

The anticipated social capabilities of robots may allow them to serve in authority roles as part of human-machine teams. To date, it is unclear if, and to what extent, human team members will comply with requests from their robotic teammates, and how such compliance compares to requests from human teammates. This research examined how the human-likeness and physical embodiment of a robot affect compliance to a robot's request to perseverate utilizing a novel task paradigm. Across a set of two studies, participants performed a visual search task while receiving ambiguous performance feedback. Compliance was evaluated when the participant requested to stop the task and the coach urged the participant to keep practicing multiple times. In the first study, the coach was either physically co-located with the participant or located remotely via a live-video. Coach type varied in human-likeness and included either a real human (confederate), a Nao robot, or a modified Roomba robot. The second study expanded on the first by including a Baxter robot as a coach and replicated the findings in a different sample population with a strict chain of command culture. Results from both studies showed that participants comply with the requests of a robot for up to 11 min. Compliance is less than to a human and embodiment and human-likeness on had weak effects on compliance.

Trust and Distrust of Automated Parking in a Tesla Model X.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to evaluate driver intervention behaviors during a partially automated parking task. BACKGROUND: Cars with partially automated parking features are becoming widely available. Although recent research explores the use of automation features in partially automated cars, none have focused on partially automated parking. Recent incidents and research have demonstrated that drivers sometimes use partially automated features in unexpected, inefficient, and harmful ways. METHOD: Participants completed a series of partially automated parking trials with a Tesla Model X and their behavioral interventions were recorded. Participants also completed a risk-taking behavior test and a post-experiment questionnaire that included questions about trust in the system, likelihood of using the Autopark feature, and preference for either the partially automated parking feature or self-parking. RESULTS: Initial intervention rates were over 50%, but declined steeply in later trials. Responses to open-ended questions revealed that once participants understood what the system was doing, they were much more likely to trust it. Trust in the partially automated parking feature was predicted by a model including risk-taking behaviors, self-confidence, self-reported number of errors committed by the Tesla, and the proportion of trials in which the driver intervened. CONCLUSION: Using partially automated parking with little knowledge of its workings can lead to high degree of initial distrust. Repeated exposure of partially automated features to drivers can greatly increase their use. APPLICATION: Short tutorials and brief explanations of the workings of partially automated features may greatly improve trust in the system when drivers are first introduced to partially automated systems.

Toward more usable electronic voting: testing the usability of a smartphone voting system.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this research was to assess the usability of a voting system designed for smart-phones. BACKGROUND: Smartphones offer remote participation in elections through the use of pervasive technology. Voting on these devices could, among other benefits, increase voter participation while allowing voters to use familiar technology. However, the usability of these systems has not been assessed. METHOD: A mobile voting system optimized for use on a smartphone was designed and tested against traditional voting platforms for usability. RESULTS: There were no reliable differences between the smartphone-based system and other voting methods in efficiency and perceived usability. More important, though, smartphone owners committed fewer errors on the mobile voting system than on the traditional voting systems. CONCLUSION: Even with the known limitations of small mobile platforms in both displays and controls, a carefully designed system can provide a usable voting method. Much of the concern about mobile voting is in the area of security; therefore, although these results are promising, security concerns and usability issues arising from mitigating them must be strongly considered. APPLICATION: The results of this experiment may help to inform current and future election and public policy officials about the benefits of allowing voters to vote with familiar hardware.