To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles

Yilin Kou; Qian Zhou; Jianping Wang; Nancy Xiaonan Yu

doi:10.1145/3772318.3791151

To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles

Yilin Kou
, Qian Zhou
, Jianping Wang
, Nancy Xiaonan Yu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

3 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Cooperation among human-driven vehicles (HVs) is essential for traffic safety and efficiency. However, the emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has prompted a new question: Will HVs still cooperate with AVs? Prior studies and narrative reviews yielded inconsistent findings. To answer this question, we conducted the first systematic review and meta-analysis of HV-AV cooperation, synthesizing evidence from 24 articles, 27 samples, 32 effect sizes, and 5,778 participants. Results revealed that people drive less cooperatively when interacting with AVs than with HVs (Hedges' g = - 0.19, 95% CI [ - 0.31, - 0.07]). The meta-regression revealed a significant link between cooperative driving and the year of publication, with more recent studies showing more cooperation; other moderators (e.g., data collection methods) were not significant. We discuss the implications of less cooperation for AV development, traffic regulations, and human-AI cooperation, and current challenges in theory, replicability, and ecological validity, in addition to offering recommendations for future research. © 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI '26
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Editors	Nuria Oliver, David A. Shamma, Heloisa Candello, Pablo Cesar, Pedro Lopes, Alessandro Bozzon, Thomas Kosch, Vera Liao, Xiaojuan Ma, Valentino Artizzu, Fiona Draxler, Gustavo López, Anke V. Reinschluessel, Xin Tong, Phoebe O. Toups Dugas
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Number of pages	18
ISBN (Print)	979-8-4007-2278-3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791151
Publication status	Published - 13 Apr 2026
Event	2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026): Creating Tomorrow Together - Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Duration: 13 Apr 2026 → 17 Apr 2026 https://chi2026.acm.org/

Publication series

Name	Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference	2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026)
Abbreviated title	CHI'26
Place	Spain
City	Barcelona
Period	13/04/26 → 17/04/26
Internet address	https://chi2026.acm.org/

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, P. R. China (Project No. CityU 11214925) and the Science and Technology Program of Jiangsu Province (Project No. BZ2024062). We would like to thank Mr. Yang Gu for assistance with study selection and coding, and Dr. Jianhua Hou for providing valuable feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Research Keywords

Autonomous Vehicles
Cooperation
Driving Behavior
Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review
Transportation

Publisher's Copyright Statement

This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

Access Output

10.1145/3772318.3791151

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Kou, Y., Zhou, Q., Wang, J., & Yu, N. X. (2026). To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles. In N. Oliver, D. A. Shamma, H. Candello, P. Cesar, P. Lopes, A. Bozzon, T. Kosch, V. Liao, X. Ma, V. Artizzu, F. Draxler, G. López, A. V. Reinschluessel, X. Tong, & P. O. T. Dugas (Eds.), CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Article 1642 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791151

Kou, Yilin ; Zhou, Qian ; Wang, Jianping et al. / To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles. CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. editor / Nuria Oliver ; David A. Shamma ; Heloisa Candello ; Pablo Cesar ; Pedro Lopes ; Alessandro Bozzon ; Thomas Kosch ; Vera Liao ; Xiaojuan Ma ; Valentino Artizzu ; Fiona Draxler ; Gustavo López ; Anke V. Reinschluessel ; Xin Tong ; Phoebe O. Toups Dugas. Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).

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title = "To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles",

abstract = "Cooperation among human-driven vehicles (HVs) is essential for traffic safety and efficiency. However, the emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has prompted a new question: Will HVs still cooperate with AVs? Prior studies and narrative reviews yielded inconsistent findings. To answer this question, we conducted the first systematic review and meta-analysis of HV-AV cooperation, synthesizing evidence from 24 articles, 27 samples, 32 effect sizes, and 5,778 participants. Results revealed that people drive less cooperatively when interacting with AVs than with HVs (Hedges' g = - 0.19, 95\% CI [ - 0.31, - 0.07]). The meta-regression revealed a significant link between cooperative driving and the year of publication, with more recent studies showing more cooperation; other moderators (e.g., data collection methods) were not significant. We discuss the implications of less cooperation for AV development, traffic regulations, and human-AI cooperation, and current challenges in theory, replicability, and ecological validity, in addition to offering recommendations for future research. {\textcopyright} 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).",

keywords = "Autonomous Vehicles, Cooperation, Driving Behavior, Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review, Transportation",

author = "Yilin Kou and Qian Zhou and Jianping Wang and Yu, \{Nancy Xiaonan\}",

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day = "13",

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publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery",

editor = "Nuria Oliver and Shamma, \{David A.\} and Heloisa Candello and Pablo Cesar and Pedro Lopes and Alessandro Bozzon and Thomas Kosch and Vera Liao and Xiaojuan Ma and Valentino Artizzu and Fiona Draxler and Gustavo L{\'o}pez and Reinschluessel, \{Anke V.\} and Xin Tong and Dugas, \{Phoebe O. Toups\}",

booktitle = "CHI '26",

address = "United States",

note = "2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026) : Creating Tomorrow Together, CHI'26 ; Conference date: 13-04-2026 Through 17-04-2026",

url = "https://chi2026.acm.org/",

}

Kou, Y , Zhou, Q , Wang, J & Yu, NX 2026, To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles. in N Oliver, DA Shamma, H Candello, P Cesar, P Lopes, A Bozzon, T Kosch, V Liao, X Ma, V Artizzu, F Draxler, G López, AV Reinschluessel, X Tong & POT Dugas (eds), CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems., 1642, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, Association for Computing Machinery, 2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026), Barcelona, Spain, 13/04/26. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791151

To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles. / Kou, Yilin ; Zhou, Qian ; Wang, Jianping et al.
CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ed. / Nuria Oliver; David A. Shamma; Heloisa Candello; Pablo Cesar; Pedro Lopes; Alessandro Bozzon; Thomas Kosch; Vera Liao; Xiaojuan Ma; Valentino Artizzu; Fiona Draxler; Gustavo López; Anke V. Reinschluessel; Xin Tong; Phoebe O. Toups Dugas. Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. 1642 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate

T2 - 2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026)

AU - Kou, Yilin

AU - Zhou, Qian

AU - Wang, Jianping

AU - Yu, Nancy Xiaonan

PY - 2026/4/13

Y1 - 2026/4/13

N2 - Cooperation among human-driven vehicles (HVs) is essential for traffic safety and efficiency. However, the emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has prompted a new question: Will HVs still cooperate with AVs? Prior studies and narrative reviews yielded inconsistent findings. To answer this question, we conducted the first systematic review and meta-analysis of HV-AV cooperation, synthesizing evidence from 24 articles, 27 samples, 32 effect sizes, and 5,778 participants. Results revealed that people drive less cooperatively when interacting with AVs than with HVs (Hedges' g = - 0.19, 95% CI [ - 0.31, - 0.07]). The meta-regression revealed a significant link between cooperative driving and the year of publication, with more recent studies showing more cooperation; other moderators (e.g., data collection methods) were not significant. We discuss the implications of less cooperation for AV development, traffic regulations, and human-AI cooperation, and current challenges in theory, replicability, and ecological validity, in addition to offering recommendations for future research. © 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

AB - Cooperation among human-driven vehicles (HVs) is essential for traffic safety and efficiency. However, the emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has prompted a new question: Will HVs still cooperate with AVs? Prior studies and narrative reviews yielded inconsistent findings. To answer this question, we conducted the first systematic review and meta-analysis of HV-AV cooperation, synthesizing evidence from 24 articles, 27 samples, 32 effect sizes, and 5,778 participants. Results revealed that people drive less cooperatively when interacting with AVs than with HVs (Hedges' g = - 0.19, 95% CI [ - 0.31, - 0.07]). The meta-regression revealed a significant link between cooperative driving and the year of publication, with more recent studies showing more cooperation; other moderators (e.g., data collection methods) were not significant. We discuss the implications of less cooperation for AV development, traffic regulations, and human-AI cooperation, and current challenges in theory, replicability, and ecological validity, in addition to offering recommendations for future research. © 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

KW - Autonomous Vehicles

KW - Cooperation

KW - Driving Behavior

KW - Meta-Analysis

KW - Systematic Review

KW - Transportation

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DO - 10.1145/3772318.3791151

M3 - RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication)

SN - 979-8-4007-2278-3

T3 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

BT - CHI '26

A2 - Oliver, Nuria

A2 - Shamma, David A.

A2 - Candello, Heloisa

A2 - Cesar, Pablo

A2 - Lopes, Pedro

A2 - Bozzon, Alessandro

A2 - Kosch, Thomas

A2 - Liao, Vera

A2 - Ma, Xiaojuan

A2 - Artizzu, Valentino

A2 - Draxler, Fiona

A2 - López, Gustavo

A2 - Reinschluessel, Anke V.

A2 - Tong, Xin

A2 - Dugas, Phoebe O. Toups

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

Y2 - 13 April 2026 through 17 April 2026

ER -

Kou Y , Zhou Q , Wang J , Yu NX. To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles. In Oliver N, Shamma DA, Candello H, Cesar P, Lopes P, Bozzon A, Kosch T, Liao V, Ma X, Artizzu V, Draxler F, López G, Reinschluessel AV, Tong X, Dugas POT, editors, CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery. 2026. 1642. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings). doi: 10.1145/3772318.3791151

To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

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GRF: A Multi-Level Remote Driving Framework for Autonomous Vehicles

Cite this

To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Driving Behavior in Interactions with Autonomous Vehicles

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Projects

GRF: A Multi-Level Remote Driving Framework for Autonomous Vehicles

Cite this