The Relationship Between Trust and Usability in Systems

Abstract

There is a large body of literature on trust, which focuses on interpersonal relationships. In recent years the scope of this research has expanded, as some studies have begun to explore trust between people and systems. Trust in these systems is critical, because if someone does not trust a system they will not use it. Another factor that heavily influences system use is usability, which has been extensively studied in human factors research. The goal of the research presented here was to expand the current understanding of usability by exploring its relationship to trust in two contexts: (1) popular consumer products that people can choose to use and (2) voting systems that citizens must use if they participate in an election. In the first context the relationship between usability and trust was explored across fourteen popular consumer products. In the second, the manner in which trust changed across three paper-ballot voting methods, each characterized by a different level of usability, was examined. In both studies it was found that the more usable systems were also the more trusted systems. At the same time, the relationship between the two factors differed in each context, implying other variables likely influenced it.