Trust Contagion and Transfer in Multi-Human Multi-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Teams

Trust in human-autonomy teams remains understudied beyond dyads. This study examined trust contagion between teammates and trust transfer between UAVs in two-human, two-UAV teams. Fifty-three human dyads, one Commander and one Intelligence Support operator, completed a target acquisition task in a 3 (UAV reliability: High-High, Mixed, Low-Low; within-subjects) × 2 (primed trust: Trust, Distrust; between-subjects) design. Intelligence Supports were primed with a 100% or 57% UAV reliability video, which shifted their initial trust. These attitudes, however, did not spread to the Commander. Instead, the higher-authority Commander pulled distrust-primed Intelligence Support’s trust upward during pre-task discussion. Once the task began, UAV reliability overrode the social effects. Trust transferred positively between systems: the reliable UAV elevated trust in the less reliable UAV, contrary to prior findings of negative transfer, likely due to differences in task characteristics. Role hierarchy and task characteristics thus emerge as key moderators of trust in multi-human multi-agent teams.