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Conceal or Reveal: Determinants of Disclosure Behavior andSelf-Presentation in Online Information Sharing
Tel Aviv University.
Karlstads universitet, Institutionen för matematik och datavetenskap (from 2013).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7384-4552
Northumbria University.
Tel Aviv University.
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

People manage their online personas similarly to the real life ones - by sharing favorable, rather than unfavorable, information about themselves. Nevertheless, the sharing of unfavorable information may still occur (e.g., negative reviews) and influence others' perceptions. Also, it remains unclear why people reveal potentially damaging information, particularly in the context of online sharing economies. In this paper, we report on a controlled online experiment (N=462), which explored how individual characteristics and feedback properties influence online sharing of information in two contexts (travel and short-term employment) where personal ratings are essential. We provided users with the option to conceal their personal rating if it dropped below a certain threshold. We found that the context of the interaction was the main determinant of the threshold users chose. Feedback participants received (with different control availability) either before or after they made their choices could trigger additional considerations. However, users relied on their priors (e.g., experience, assumptions), rather than on new information provided in indications. Our findings show how people often fail to identify the impact of non-disclosure, which can lead to undesirable information being signaled to other users. These findings challenge the notion of user "informedness'' vis-a-vis personal information disclosure.

National Category
Human Computer Interaction
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-60103OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-60103DiVA, id: diva2:1749380
Available from: 2020-09-07 Created: 2023-04-06 Last updated: 2023-04-06
In thesis
1. Homo Varius: Investigating Intrinsic and Extrinsic Determinants to Explain Online Privacy Decisions
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Homo Varius: Investigating Intrinsic and Extrinsic Determinants to Explain Online Privacy Decisions
2020 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

When people interact with others, they control how much personal information they reveal, and, hence, make decisions about their privacy. Similarly, in online settings, they decide how much personal information they expose. However, online, their decisions might have greater consequences because of the persistent nature of disclosed information and technological complexities. Hence, technologies should provide people with comprehensive knowledge, enabling informed choices, and reducing privacy risks. Nevertheless, little is known about the interplay of the different factors that influence people's privacy choices. Sometimes, people over-disclose their personal information despite their privacy concerns, presumably relying on fast thinking of homo heuristicus. Yet, it is common to expect that people's decisions should result in more "rational" outcomes; this may decrease privacy risks - here, bringing to the forefront thinking of homo economicus.  This thesis presents insights into the understanding of online privacy decisions. Through a series of studies, we investigate the many factors that influence privacy-related attitudes and behaviors. Our work examines the interaction of the intrinsic (e.g., personality) and extrinsic (e.g., visual design of a privacy interface) determinants of online choices (e.g., disclosure). Overall, we demonstrate the complexity of human decisions in the context of online privacy, suggesting that people's choices are context-dependent and the borders between decisions of the homo heuristicus and economicus are blurry. Thus, we conclude that it is homo varius that can make privacy-aware choices by switching between rational calculations and heuristical thinking, depending on the interplay of different intrinsic and extrinsic determinants. This work provides a knowledge base for future studies investigating privacy decisions. Further, it contributes insights for privacy practitioners (e.g., designers) that may help improve current privacy designs.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Karlstad: Karlstads universitet, 2020. p. 48
Keywords
Privacy, Attitudes & Behavior, Decision-Making, HCI, GUI, Usability, Visual Design, Personality, Affect
National Category
Human Computer Interaction
Research subject
Computer Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-60093 (URN)978-91-7867-150-2 (ISBN)978-91-7867-149-6 (ISBN)
Public defence
2020-10-19, 21A342, Eva Eriksson, 13:30 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2023-04-06 Created: 2023-04-06 Last updated: 2023-04-06Bibliographically approved

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Kitkowska, Agnieszka

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