Public attitude toward self-driving vehicles on public roads: Direct experience changed ambivalent people to be more positive

Abstract The public had expressed their resistance and negative attitudes to self-driving vehicles (SDVs). Positive change in attitudes is critical for their diffusion. However, it gets limited scholarly attention. In a field experiment (N = 300), we recorded changes in attitude structure (positive, negative, ambivalent, and indifferent) toward the issue of whether SDVs should be allowed riding on public roads and three attitude components related to SDVs including cognitive component (perceived benefit and risk), affective component (positive affect, trust), and behavioral component (behavioral intention). Participants’ ambivalence about and interest in the issue were also assessed. Direct experience lead participants to be more positive: five in ten were ambivalent before, whereas six in ten were positive later. Four major groups emerged: two groups without attitude change, keeping positive (n = 120) and keeping ambivalent (n = 88), and two groups with attitude change, ambivalent→positive (n = 55) and positive→ambivalent (n = 16). Two dimensions of attitude strength (ambivalence and inconsistency) might account for attitude change in the latter two groups, respectively. Attitude and its three components changed consistently. Policymakers and automakers need to provide opportunities for the public to experience autonomous vehicles to form more positive attitudes.