Transportation by the Hand of a Ghost: The Influence of Trait Anxiety in the Context of Fear of giving up Control on the Acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous driving has gained increasing attention in recent years and is already beginning to make its first steps into our daily road traffic [2, 3]. Pilot projects are underway worldwide in which artificial intelligence (AI) replaces humans as drivers. In just a few years, autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to account for 50 % of new vehicles [4]. In this wake, a huge research field has opened around autonomous driving. In recent years, in addition to technical feasibility, the focus has increasingly been on factors that contribute to humans' successful adoption of AVs. The person of the user with his or her individual perception and personality is a crucial adjusting screw for the successful establishment of AVs. In this context, potential uncertainties, worries, and fears regarding new, largely unknown technologies such as AVs also play an important role [5]. The degree of anxiety with which a person encounters AVs can be crucial for the ultimate use and success of this development [6]. Although findings on the positive relationship between anxiety and AV acceptance have been confirmed, results are still inconsistent. Recent findings even suggest that high trait anxiety has a positive effect on AV acceptance [7]. One possible explanation for this finding is that the more anxious people are, the more they value the possibility of giving up control in AVs. However, this assumption has not yet been examined. To better understand anxiety as an essential factor for the acceptance of autonomous vehicles, we investigate in this study the relationship between trait anxiety and acceptance in the context of fear of giving up control. We also focus on to whom control is handed over: the driver in the normal bus or the AI in the autonomous bus. With our findings, we aim to contribute to the successful establishment of AVs.