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Mapping the Neural-Behavioral-Psychological Link: An fNIRS Study on Driver Trust and Intervention in Perception-Gap Scenarios

SessionST10: Trust and Behavioral Adaptation in Mixed-Autonomy Traffic

DescriptionAs connected and automated vehicles utilize vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication to respond to obstructed hazards, they introduce a "perception gap" between human drivers and the system. This asymmetry can lead to sudden, unexplained vehicle maneuvers, diminishing driver trust and triggering unsafe, unnecessary manual takeovers. This presentation explores the cognitive and neural mechanisms behind these interventions using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We simulated perception-gap scenarios with 31 drivers under partial driving automation, tracking prefrontal hemodynamic activity. Our results reveal a distinct neural timing–amplitude dissociation: prolonged neural activation timings correspond with lower intervention odds, while amplified signal amplitudes predict higher intervention odds. Furthermore, behavioral data confirm that higher trust significantly reduces the probability of driver intervention. By mapping the continuous neural and behavioral links during obstructed hazard events, our findings provide an objective foundation for designing adaptive human-machine interfaces. Ultimately, these insights can inform future systems capable of dynamically calibrating driver trust and mitigating unwarranted takeovers in real-time.

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