The Privacy Paradox in HCI: Calculus Behavior in Disclosing PII Online

摘要

The Privacy Paradox is an information privacy behavioral phenomenon wherein individuals arc aware that the personally identifiable information (PII) they disclose in an online transaction may be compromised, yet disclose it nonetheless. One explanation that has been given for this phenomenon is that the decision to disclose information online is informed by a risk/reward analysis, referred to as Privacy Calculus. However, the broad privacy calculus framework does not necessarily provide insight into specifically how an individual assesses either risk or reward. In our study, we evaluate several behavioral factors in an effort to assess whether and to what extent each informs or influences an individual's risk assessment when deciding whether to disclose or withhold their Pll in a given online transaction. Specifically, we report findings from a recent survey we administered, examining factors included in three different behavioral models. Results from this survey were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, which provided insights as to the salience of each variable vis-a-vis online information behavior. Of the factors included in our study, our results surfaced four variables - perceived trustworthiness, perceived vulnerability, "cyber" self-efficacy, and perceived controllability - that appear to be particularly salient in an individual's decision to withhold or disclose Pll online.