A prototype analysis of trust in autonomous vehicles (AVs)

Sandra Kiffin-Petersen, Sharon Purchase, Brett Smith and Doina Olaru

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2026, vol. 205, issue C

Abstract: Trust in autonomous vehicles (AVs) plays a critical role in shaping public policy and fostering their public acceptance. As AV technology advances, measuring trust becomes increasingly important for informing government strategies. Trials currently undertaken in North America, Europe and Asia highlight the need for urban planning and transport policy departments to actively enhance public trust in AVs. This study applies prototype analysis, a technique widely used in psychology, though yet to become part of the standard toolkit in transport research, to investigate the features of trust in AVs. Prototype analysis is a novel ground-up methodology to investigate the cognitive structure of an abstract concept, here, trust in AVs. Rather than transferring human–human trust measures to trust in AVs, this study elicits context-specific constructs that may inform scale development processes through a series of five studies undertaken in Australia: feature generation, ranking/rating, best-worst, reaction time, and vignette analysis. A key outcome is a set of policy recommendations for how government departments can implement practices that can build trust in this future technology, ensuring public confidence keeps pace with technological advancements in autonomous transport.

Keywords: Trust; Autonomous vehicles (AV); Prototype analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2026.104886

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