Calibrating Trust, Reliance and Dependence in Variable-Reliability Automation

Abstract

Trust and system reliability can influence a user’s dependence on automated systems. This study aimed to investigate how increases and decreases in automation reliability affect users’ trust in these systems and how these changes in trust are associated with users’ dependence on the system. Participants completed a color identification task with the help of an automated aid, where the reliability of this aid either increased from 50% to 100% or decreased from 100% to 50% as the task progressed, depending on which group the participants were assigned to. Participants’ trust, self-confidence, and dependence on the system were measured throughout the experiment. There were no differences in trust between the two groups throughout the experiment; however, participants’ dependence behavior did follow system reliability. These findings highlight that trust is not always correlated with system reliability, and that although trust can often influence dependence, it does not always determine it.