Too Much Is as Bad as Too Little: The Impact of Implementing Multiple Social Interaction Features on Trust and Acceptance of Automated Vehicle Agents

While human-like social interactions can enhance trust in and acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs), overuse may hinder these benefits, reflecting the “uncanny valley of mind” effect. We hypothesized that the AV agent’s human-like features—calling drivers by their name (Name) and expressing emotions (Emotion)—enhance trust and acceptance individually but may have adverse effects when combined. A 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment (N = 84) examined these effects. Participants in the Name and Emotion combination were more likely to perceive the experiential mind in the AV compared to the Name or Emotion conditions. However, they were less likely to show behavioral trust in the AV than in the Emotion condition, to perceive the AV as useful than in either the Name or Emotion condition, and to show intention to use the AV than in the Name condition. These findings highlight potential trade-offs in designing social AV interactions.