The algorithm trust-by-task map
Treat reliance as a task-and-experience decision. Do not release a universal trust score.
| Review field | Example boundary | Permitted interpretation | Stop signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task character | Objective, subjective, or mixed | “Reliance is being reviewed for this task.” | The article generalizes from one task to all tasks. |
| Observed performance | No observed error, or a visible error | “Experience with this performance may affect reliance.” | One error is treated as proof of overall inferiority. |
| Advice source | Algorithmic, human, or unknown label | “The source label is part of the decision context.” | Source labels are omitted while attitude is compared. |
| Expertise and comparison | Own estimate, human benchmark, or no direct rival | “The reliance response is bounded by the comparison and expertise.” | A novice and an expert are treated as the same decision-maker. |
| Release question | What reliance decision is being made? | “Use, override, review, or test the advice at this boundary.” | “Users trust the algorithm” is the final finding. |
Swipe or scroll horizontally if the table is wider than your screen.
Reference & Evidence
Source: Author's decision framework grounded in Castelo, Bos and Lehmann (2019), Dietvorst, Simmons and Massey (2015), and Logg, Minson and Moore (2019). The prompts are synthetic and do not score a current system.
Each line is a claim from the register this journal publishes against, resolved from the register at build time.
- A Across four online laboratory studies with more than 1,400 participants and two online field studies with more than 56,000, reliance moved with perceived task character: "They find that algorithms are trusted and relied on less for tasks that seem subjective (vs. objective) in nature" Castelo, Bos & Lehmann. (2019) ·
CBL19-C1 - A Consumers trusted and used algorithms less for tasks perceived as subjective than for tasks perceived as objective. Castelo, Bos & Lehmann. (2019) ·
CBL19-C2 - A And the perception is malleable: "increasing a task"'"s perceived objectivity increases trust in and use of algorithms for that task" Castelo, Bos & Lehmann. (2019) ·
CBL19-C3 - A The aversion is triggered by observation, in the authors' words: "We show that people are especially averse to algorithmic forecasters after seeing them perform, even when they see them outperform a human forecaster", across "In 5 studies, participants either saw an algorithm make forecasts, a human make forecasts, both, or neither" Dietvorst, Simmons & Massey. (2015) ·
DSM15-C1 - A Participants lost confidence in an algorithm more quickly than in a human after the two made the same mistake, even when the algorithm had outperformed the human. Dietvorst, Simmons & Massey. (2015) ·
DSM15-C2 - A The mechanism they give: "This is because people more quickly lose confidence in algorithmic than human forecasters after seeing them make the same mistake" Dietvorst, Simmons & Massey. (2015) ·
DSM15-C3 - A The opposite finding, and its comparison: "results from six experiments show that lay people adhere more to advice when they think it comes from an algorithm than from a person", including "forecasts about the popularity of songs and romantic attraction" Logg, Minson & Moore. (2019) ·
LMM19-C1 - A Algorithm appreciation appeared in numeric estimates and forecasts, including song popularity and romantic attraction judgments. Logg, Minson & Moore. (2019) ·
LMM19-C2 - A And its limits, in the same abstract: "Algorithm appreciation persisted when advice appeared jointly or separately", but weakened when "people chose between an algorithm"'s estimate and their own, or when participants had forecasting expertise Logg, Minson & Moore. (2019) ·
LMM19-C3
Grades: A, verified against the printed page of the primary source · B, primary source, text layer only · C, authoritative secondary · D, reported.
Related exhibits
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