Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Sandra Carpenter

Committee Member

Jodi Price

Committee Member

Eric A. Seemann

Subject(s)

Risk perception, Cyber intelligence (Computer security), Computer networks--Security measures, Identity theft

Abstract

Health-focused research has been exploring the impact of message framing on behavioral compliance with health warnings for decades. However, this research venue has yet to be leveraged by designers of warnings intended to encourage safe internet behaviors. The present experiment investigates whether positively or negatively framed cyber warnings are more likely to result in decreased disclosure of personally identifying information in the context of a restaurant reservation tablet application, and whether the effectiveness of these messages varies based on the user’s depth of message processing, perception of risk, and online privacy concern. Results provided support for warning context as an important consideration for cyber warning design, as negatively framed warnings were significantly more effective than positively framed warnings at reducing disclosure of higher-risk information.

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