Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach

Numerous countries are integrating autonomous vehicles into their public transport systems. Among the expected benefits of autonomous public transport, increased mobility for families with young children is foregrounded. Yet, the potential risks associated with autonomous public transport may impede...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ho, Shirley S., Tan, Wenqi
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/170284
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
id sg-ntu-dr.10356-170284
record_format dspace
spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1702842023-09-06T01:26:58Z Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach Ho, Shirley S. Tan, Wenqi Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Social sciences::Communication Autonomous Public Transport Risk Perceptions Numerous countries are integrating autonomous vehicles into their public transport systems. Among the expected benefits of autonomous public transport, increased mobility for families with young children is foregrounded. Yet, the potential risks associated with autonomous public transport may impede parents’ acceptance of the technology for use by their children. As risk communication is an effective strategy for mitigating the influence of risk perception on acceptance, this study sought to proactively identify risk perceptions that parents hold toward autonomous public transport. Against the backdrop of Singapore’s imminent deployment of autonomous public transport and informed by the social representations theory, we elicited a mental model of parents’ risk perceptions toward autonomous public transport that was sensitive to the diversity of opinion among parents and their preferences for risk communication messages about autonomous public transport. To that end, we conducted three online focus group discussions consisting of 21 Singaporean parents who had children aged 2 wk to 12 years old. Theoretically, this study addresses research gaps in the mental models literature and offers theoretical implications for scholars seeking to employ the mental models approach to understand lay risk perceptions. Practically, this study informs the design of relevant and targeted risk communication messages about autonomous public transport. Nanyang Technological University This work was supported by the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute and NTU Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity at Nanyang Technological University [Grant Number: #021175-00001]. 2023-09-06T01:26:58Z 2023-09-06T01:26:58Z 2023 Journal Article Ho, S. S. & Tan, W. (2023). Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach. Journal of Risk Research. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2023.2218862 1366-9877 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/170284 10.1080/13669877.2023.2218862 2-s2.0-85161857641 en #021175-00001 Journal of Risk Research © 2023 Informa UK limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Social sciences::Communication
Autonomous Public Transport
Risk Perceptions
spellingShingle Social sciences::Communication
Autonomous Public Transport
Risk Perceptions
Ho, Shirley S.
Tan, Wenqi
Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach
description Numerous countries are integrating autonomous vehicles into their public transport systems. Among the expected benefits of autonomous public transport, increased mobility for families with young children is foregrounded. Yet, the potential risks associated with autonomous public transport may impede parents’ acceptance of the technology for use by their children. As risk communication is an effective strategy for mitigating the influence of risk perception on acceptance, this study sought to proactively identify risk perceptions that parents hold toward autonomous public transport. Against the backdrop of Singapore’s imminent deployment of autonomous public transport and informed by the social representations theory, we elicited a mental model of parents’ risk perceptions toward autonomous public transport that was sensitive to the diversity of opinion among parents and their preferences for risk communication messages about autonomous public transport. To that end, we conducted three online focus group discussions consisting of 21 Singaporean parents who had children aged 2 wk to 12 years old. Theoretically, this study addresses research gaps in the mental models literature and offers theoretical implications for scholars seeking to employ the mental models approach to understand lay risk perceptions. Practically, this study informs the design of relevant and targeted risk communication messages about autonomous public transport.
author2 Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
author_facet Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Ho, Shirley S.
Tan, Wenqi
format Article
author Ho, Shirley S.
Tan, Wenqi
author_sort Ho, Shirley S.
title Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach
title_short Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach
title_full Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach
title_fullStr Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach
title_full_unstemmed Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach
title_sort mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach
publishDate 2023
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/170284
_version_ 1779156666856505344