Presentation
Age Differences in the Malleability of Attitudes toward Automated Shared Mobility
Event Type
Lecture
In-Person
Student Forum
TimeTuesday, October 5th11:30am - 11:45am EDT
LocationGrand Salon I
DescriptionPrevious research has investigated age differences in ridesharing usage and factors influencing acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs). We combined these to investigate age differences in the malleability of anticipated acceptance of shared automated vehicles (SAVs). We define SAVs as fully-automated vehicles in which passengers are paired with other riders traveling along a similar route. The use of SAVs should lead to several benefits, including reduced car emissions, reduced traffic, and improved mobility for persons who cannot drive themselves. Knowing what types of experiences improve perceptions of SAVs will be beneficial for educational campaigns aiming to promote SAV usage. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention condition where they either watched 1.) an educational video about how SAVs work and their potential benefits, 2.) an experiential video showing a SAV navigating traffic, 3.) both the experiential and educational videos, or 4.) a video explaining how ridesharing works. Acceptance attitudes towards SAVs were measured before and after the intervention. Both older and middle-aged adults expressed significant increases in perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) than younger adults. PEOU's and PU's positive relationship with behavioral intention (BI) in the Technology Acceptance Model suggests that more involved efforts seeking to inform and/or give individuals hands-on experience with SAVs have the potential to be effective in promoting SAV use in these age groups.