scholarly journals The Effect of Countermeasure Readability on Security Intentions

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-704
Author(s):  
Tim Smit ◽  
Max van Haastrecht ◽  
Marco Spruit
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Protection Motivation Theory ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Motivation Theory ◽  
Human Failure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Countermeasures Research

Human failure is a primary contributor to successful cyber attacks. For any cybersecurity initiative, it is therefore vital to motivate individuals to implement secure behavior. Research using protection motivation theory (PMT) has given insights into what motivates people to safeguard themselves in cyberspace. Recent PMT results have highlighted the central role of the coping appraisal in the cybersecurity context. In cybersecurity, we cope with threats using countermeasures. Research has shown that countermeasure awareness is a significant antecedent to all coping appraisal elements. Yet, although awareness plays a key role within the PMT framework, it is generally challenging to influence. A factor that is easy to influence is countermeasure readability. Earlier work has shown the impact of readability on understanding and that readability metrics make measuring and improving readability simple. Therefore, our research aims to clarify the relationship between countermeasure readability and security intentions. We propose an extended theoretical framework and investigate its implications using a survey. In line with related studies, results indicate that people are more likely to have favorable security intentions if they are aware of countermeasures and are confident in their ability to implement them. Crucially, the data show that countermeasure readability influences security intentions. Our results imply that cybersecurity professionals can utilize readability metrics to assess and improve the readability of countermeasure texts, providing an actionable avenue towards influencing security intentions.

Modeling the Impact of Biometric Security on Millennials’ Protection Motivation

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-49
Author(s):  
Benjamin Ngugi ◽  
Arnold Kamis
Keyword(s):  
User Authentication ◽  
Protection Motivation Theory ◽  
System Response ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Motivation Theory ◽  
Perceived Effort ◽  
Biometric Security ◽  
Hypothetical Scenario ◽  
System Access ◽  
The Impact

Security researchers and managers would like to know the best ways of introducing new innovations and motivating their use. This study applies Protection Motivation Theory to model the coping and threat appraisals that motivate Millennials, who are early technology adopters, to adopt or resist biometric security for system access. One hundred fifty-nine Millennials were given a hypothetical scenario in which system access would be enhanced by biometric security to strengthen user authentication. The authors model the results with PLS and find that Protection Motivation Theory provides a good explanation of the user’s perceptions of biometric security. The model suggests that the users’ protection motivation is influenced directly by the Perceived System Response Efficacy of the biometric system and indirectly by Perceived Effort Expectancy, Perceived Computer Self-Efficacy, Perceived Privacy Invasion and Perceived System Vulnerability. Implications and limitations of the model are discussed.

scholarly journals Protection Motivation Theory: A Proposed Theoretical Extension and Moving beyond Rationality—The Case of Flooding

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Oakley ◽  
Sam Mohun Himmelweit ◽  
Paul Leinster ◽  
Mónica Casado
Keyword(s):  
Protection Motivation Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Motivation Theory ◽  
Behavioral Biases ◽  
Financial Costs ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Wide Range

Despite the significant financial and non-financial costs of household flooding, and the availability of products that can reduce the risk or impact of flooding, relatively few consumers choose to adopt these products. To help explain this, we combine the existing theoretical literature with evidence from 20 one-to-one discussions and three workshops with key stakeholders, as well as five round tables, to draw practical evidence of actual responses to flood risk. This analysis leads us to propose an extension to Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), which more accurately captures the decision-making process of consumers by highlighting the role of ‘ownership appraisal’. We then assess the extent to which behavioral biases impact on this revised framework. By highlighting the interaction with an augmented model of PMT and behavioral biases, the paper sheds light on potential reasons behind the fact that consumers are unlikely to adopt property-level flood resilience measures and identifies strategies to increase flood protection. The Augmented PMT suggests that policymakers might focus on increasing the Ownership Appraisal element, both directly and by targeting the creation of more supportive social norms. The work presented here opens up a wide range of areas for future research in the field.

scholarly journals Review of social media intervention in adult population during COVID-19 pandemic based on Protection Motivation Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 843
Author(s):  
Muhammad Prima Cakra Randana ◽  
Rizma Adlia Syakurah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Protection Motivation Theory ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Motivation Theory ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Perceived Severity ◽  
Media Intervention ◽  
The Impact

During COVID-19 pandemic, social media has become a basis for information deployment, it has the potential to change people opinion and solve many issues in this situation. Based on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), threat and coping appraisal were predictors to behavioral responses in pandemics. This study aimed to analyze the impact of social media intervention in adult population during COVID-19 pandemic based on PMT. This review was created using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) and data collection from electronic databases such as Pubmed, Mendeley app, Europe PMC, Cochrane Databases, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library. Inclusion criteria consists of English studies, studies related to the topic and match with required variables. There are five cross-sectional studies involving a total of 2.448 participants that were published in 2020. Among all categories based on included studied, it was shown that cyberchondria, perceived severity and perceived vulnerability are predictors in social media, related to behavioral responses during COVID-19 pandemic. Reducing information overload, related to cyberchondria, via the clear structuring and communication of reliable health information is needed. Hence, educating people on responsible and healthy social media use could help alleviate the observed negative consequences from perceived severity and vulnerability.

scholarly journals Increasing Intention to Reduce Fossil Fuel Consumption: A Protection Motivation Theory Based Experimental Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Jane Kothe ◽  
Mathew Ling ◽  
Barbara Mullan ◽  
Anna Klas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Experimental Study ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Protection Motivation Theory ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Motivation Theory ◽  
Fuel Use ◽  
The Impact

Reducing individual fossil fuel use is an important component of climate change mitigation, but motivating behaviour change to achieve this is difficult. This experimental study tests the impact of Protection Motivation Theory based messages on intention to reduce fossil fuel use in 3803 US adults recruited via Amazon MTurk (mean age = 36.11 years; 51.4% female). Only messages targeting self-efficacy and response efficacy increased intention to reduce fossil fuel use relative to the control group. However, only the self-efficacy message had an impact on its corresponding construct, highlighting the importance of manipulation checks in model testing. Given the urgency of responding to climate change, the potential for additive benefits of effective messages should be considered irrespective of their underlying psychological mechanism. Study preregistration: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/2G6BQ. Data related to this manuscript: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/2TRBK.

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