Does fear of technology shape social acceptance of autonomous vehicles in Poland? conclusions from cross-sectional study using structural equation modelling.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-48156-4
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Summary
This study investigates how general technology anxiety influences the social acceptance of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Poland, a context where AVs remain largely hypothetical and public exposure is limited. While prior research often treats anxiety as a direct barrier to adoption, this research questions whether anxiety functions instead as a catalyst that intensifies specific cognitive and innovation-related evaluations. The authors aim to elucidate the mechanisms through which this dispositional trait shapes acceptance, moving beyond standard utility-based models to integrate psychological factors with established technology adoption frameworks. The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study using Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) on a representative sample of 1,057 adult Polish residents. They employed Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to test an integrated model combining the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) constructs. The model included technology anxiety as a distal antecedent influencing six mediating variables: Performance/Effort Expectancy, Trialability, Observability, Perceived Data Privacy, External Locus of Control, and Sensation Seeking. Age was included as a control variable. Data were collected in November 2024, with rigorous quality controls applied to ensure representativeness and data integrity. The results revealed that technology anxiety does not directly inhibit social acceptance; rather, its effect is fully mediated by cognitive and innovation-related factors. Anxiety significantly amplified evaluative processes, increasing reliance on Performance/Effort Expectancy, Trialability, and Observability, while also heightening Perceived Data Privacy concerns. Performance Expectancy emerged as the strongest predictor of social acceptance, followed by Trialability. Conversely, while anxiety increased privacy concerns, these concerns did not significantly predict acceptance in the final model. The structural model explained 58.9% of the variance in social acceptance. Additionally, age showed a small but significant negative association with acceptance. The findings indicate that technology anxiety acts as a catalyst that intensifies the need for tangible utility and experiential learning rather than serving as a passive barrier. This suggests that facilitating trial opportunities and demonstrating practical benefits are critical strategies to mitigate anxiety-driven resistance. For policymakers and mobility providers, particularly in emerging markets like Poland, these results imply that communication strategies should focus on concrete user benefits and safe, visible pilot programs to foster societal readiness. The study provides a theoretical advancement by demonstrating the mediating role of general technology anxiety within technology-acceptance models, offering practical guidance for enhancing AV adoption in environments with limited real-world exposure.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | PubMed Central | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-17 |
| archive | success | unpaywall | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-25 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-25 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| enrich | success | openalex | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-17 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-25 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-20 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-25; verification: verified.
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