Welcome to "Revise and Resubmit," the podcast where we break down cutting-edge research from the world of academia and beyond. Today, we delve into a fascinating study featured in our prestigious "Weekend Journal Review." We’re exploring the paper titled Public Perception and Autonomous Vehicle Liability, authored by Julian De Freitas, Xilin Zhou, Margherita Atzei, Shoshana Boardman, and Luigi Di Lillo, and published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, one of the elite FT50 journals.
This study tackles a critical question for the future of transportation: How do consumers perceive liability when autonomous vehicles (AVs) are involved in accidents where they aren’t at fault? Across three experiments involving nearly 2,700 participants, the researchers found that AVs, even when not at fault, are judged more harshly than human-driven vehicles. The public's perception is shaped by the salience of the AV in the accident and a tendency to imagine how the AV could have acted differently. This could have profound implications for the insurability and adoption of AV technology.
As we explore these findings, we’ll ask: Could this perception bias slow down the adoption of a technology designed to save lives? And what can the industry do to build trust and shift public perception?
A big thank you to the authors and the Journal of Consumer Psychology for this insightful contribution. Don’t forget to subscribe to "Revise and Resubmit" on Spotify, Amazon Prime, and Apple Podcast, and check out our YouTube channel, Weekend Researcher, for more engaging content.
So, here’s a thought to ponder: If the public's trust in technology determines its future, how can AV firms bridge the gap between perception and reality?
Reference
De Freitas, J., Zhou, X., Atzei, M., Boardman, S., & Lillo, L. D. (2025). Public perception and autonomous vehicle liability. Journal of Consumer Psychology, ahead-of-print, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1448
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