Perceptions of Terms Used to Describe Automation in Vehicles: A Multidimensional Scaling Study

Concerns have arisen that the functionality implied by some of the terms used to described automation in vehicles does not align with the actual capabilities of automated systems. An exploratory study examined perceptions of a sample of 39 words, phrases, or names used to described automation in vehicles using similarity ratings analyzed with multidimensional scaling (MDS). Participants rated the extent to which they perceived that pairs of terms indicated similar or dissimilar functional capabilities of vehicles. The model with two dimensions was selected as the most appropriate model for interpretation; the model produced a stress value of .26 and R2 = .80. The first dimension clearly corresponded to the perceived level of automation. In some instances, the model suggested that participants’ perceptions of the terms did not align with the capabilities associated with the technical definitions of the terms. Instances of both under- and over-estimation of capabilities were suggested by the model.