Automation- Induced "Complacency": Development of the Complacency-Potential Rating Scale

Automation-induced "complacency" has been implicated in accidents involving commercial aircraft and other high-technology systems. A 20-item scale was developed for measuring attitudes toward commonly encountered automated devices that reflect a potential for complacency. Factor analysis of responses (N = 139) to scale items revealed four factors: Confidence-Related, Reliance-Related, Trust-Related, and Safety-Related Complacency. It is proposed that these form components of automation-induced complacency rather than general attitudes toward automation. The internal consistency (r = 37) and test reliability (r = .90) of the factors and the scale as a whole were high. Complacency potential is discussed with respect to interrelations between automation and operator trust in and reliance on automation.