Check or Reject? Trust and Motivation Development in App-Based Warning Systems

<p>This online supplement contains a dataset (raw data) collected in two studies by the University of M&uuml;nster, Germany, as well as supplementary study materials, and the online appendix/online supplement of our paper including additional results. The studies were part of a larger research project (<a href="https://www.brawa.ovgu.de/en/">https://www.brawa.ovgu.de/en/</a>) and examined trust development in warning systems over time.</p> <p>App-based warning systems notify people of upcoming hazards, but they will only be used if users trust them, which, in turn, depends on the system&rsquo;s performance (i.e., number of false alarms). Thus, the present work aims to present initial evidence on how trust in warning systems develops over time. We conducted two field experiments in which participants used a mobile (fire) emergency warning system for two weeks with variable conditions. Study 1 combined online and in-app questionnaires in a longitudinal design (<em>N_screening</em> = 623, <em>N_app</em> = 265). Notably, false alarms led to a significant decrease in trustworthiness, trust, motivation, and intention to use, whereas a responsibility diffusion manipulation did not have negative effects. In study 2, we examined under real-life conditions app users&rsquo; on-site responses after false alarms by applying questionnaires, behavioural observations, and in-depth interviews (<em>N_screening</em> = 119, <em>N_app</em> = 58). Before the field experiment on site, participants completed a fire safety training. While the training had a positive influence on motivation, gamification of the app showed no effects. Overall, the results agree with recent models about the development of trust over time and highlight the dynamic nature of our relationship to warning systems. Finally, we derive implications for warning system design.</p> <p>The ethics committee of the Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science of the University of M&uuml;nster approved the studies (under ID 2022-69-MT-FA and ID 2023-21-MT-FA2) and we preregistered them with aspredicted.org (available at <a href="https://aspredicted.org/4r6b-7cfk.pdf">https://aspredicted.org/4r6b-7cfk.pdf</a> and <a href="https://aspredicted.org/7yms-hsm8.pdf">https://aspredicted.org/7yms-hsm8.pdf</a>). The studies were supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant number 13N15416).</p> <p><strong>This online supplement includes:</strong></p> <ul> <li>An online supplement (online appendix) containing additional material and results for Study 1 and Study 2</li> <li>Two codebooks describing all instructions and items in both 1) study 1 and 2) study 2</li> <li>Raw (anonymized) data sets and analyses for study 1 and study 2 (Note: The raw data contains only the information of persons who were included in the analysis and who gave their informed consent. Some demographic information was deleted to ensure anonymity.)</li> </ul>