From the Head or the Heart? An Experimental Design on the Impact of Explanation on Cognitive and Affective Trust

TL;DR

This study investigates how different types of explanations influence both cognitive and affective trust in autonomous vehicles, highlighting the importance of tailored communication for enhancing user trust.

Contribution

It uniquely examines the differential effects of explanations on cognitive versus affective trust in AVs, addressing a gap in existing literature.

Findings

Explanations significantly impact cognitive trust.

Explanations also influence affective trust, but differently.

Designing explanations tailored to trust type can improve AV acceptance.

Abstract

Automated vehicles (AVs) are social robots that can potentially benefit our society. According to the existing literature, AV explanations can promote passengers' trust by reducing the uncertainty associated with the AV's reasoning and actions. However, the literature on AV explanations and trust has failed to consider how the type of trust - cognitive versus affective - might alter this relationship. Yet, the existing literature has shown that the implications associated with trust vary widely depending on whether it is cognitive or affective. To address this shortcoming and better understand the impacts of explanations on trust in AVs, we designed a study to investigate the effectiveness of explanations on both cognitive and affective trust. We expect these results to be of great significance in designing AV explanations to promote AV trust.