Positive, negative, ambivalent, or indifferent? Exploring the structure of public attitudes toward self-driving vehicles on public roads

We explored the structure of public attitudes on whether self-driving vehicles (SDVs) should be allowed on public roads, through a four-way typology of attitudes (positive, negative, ambivalent, and indifferent). We segmented participants based on a single item, according to which participants allocated themselves to one of the four attitudinal groups, and characterized the demographic and psychological profiles of the four groups in a paper-and-pencil survey in Tianjin, China (N = 816). Nearly half of the participants were in the ambivalent group, followed by the positive group, with these two groups comprising 82% of the sample. Compared to the ambivalent group, the positive group had more participants who had heard of SDVs, more males, higher income, and more licensed drivers. The positive, negative, and two middle groups (ambivalent and indifferent) differed significantly on benefit and risk perceptions, whereas the two middle groups did not differ on benefit and risk perceptions, ambivalence, or interest in SDVs. These four groups clearly differed on two behavioral components of attitude, behavioral intention and willingness to pay. Their rank (from highest to lowest) was positive, ambivalent, indifferent, and negative, for both behavioral components. The findings offer novel insights into the complex structure of public attitudes toward SDVs.