System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to improving lane centering performance of an operator of a vehicle after transitioning from an automated mode of operation to a manual mode of operation. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to detecting a transition to the manual mode of operation, modifying a sensitivity level of a lane positioning system from a first value to a second value to induce finer path following by the operator. The method includes controlling the lane positioning system according to the sensitivity level. The method also includes resetting the sensitivity level to the first value upon determining that a deviation score satisfies a stability threshold. The deviation score characterizes deviations of the vehicle from a centerline resulting from operator control inputs.