Path Analysis of EV Charging: Modeling Relationships Among Charging Context and User Emotions

Electric vehicle (EV) users make charging decisions under varying contextual factors that may shape both behavior and emotional experiences, yet the connections among these factors are not well understood. Path analysis was applied to model how state of charge (SoC), charging location, time of day, and charging rate relate to users’ emotional state before and after charging. The model was based on a total of 202 charging events logged by 21 participants. Lower SoC was associated with the selection of higher charging rates and a higher likelihood of negative emotion, while charging rate itself was not a significant predictor of post-charging emotion, suggesting that how users feel entering a session may matter more than how quickly the battery fills. Findings point to SoC and charging context as meaningful factors in human-centered charging system design, where improving range prediction and charging availability information may be as important as increasing charging speed.