Trust as a Construct for Evaluation of Automated Aids: Past and Future Theory and Research

Abstract

As complex automated aids proliferate in transportation and manufacturing domains, examining human users' trust in such systems gains importance. We review some of the growing literature on trust in automated systems, and outline a program for future studies and theoretical developments. Trust is an intervening variable between automation reliability and use, among other factors. Consistent reliable machine performance can increase trust, and discrete errors can decrease trust. Trust tends to resist change over time. The association between trust and subsequent usage is positive but not clear-cut, and may be mediated by risk and self-confidence. The place of trust in the overall picture of human-automation system performance must be established. The suggested research program accomplishes this by investigating training issues and individual differences, employing new measures, and examining dynamics of trust and usage in automation possessing different reliability in different situations, automation with multiple modes, and adaptive automation.