Rewind
All the content from last year’s PeepSec, Impact and flagship industry events
Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control: If you feel bad, do It!
This paper investigated why our ability to control impulses wains during emotional distress. It found when people believed emotional distress to be long-term, they were better able to control impulses – suggesting indulging our impulses during times of distress is an...
Transforming the “weakest link”: A human-computer interaction approach for usable and effective security
This paper argues that simply blaming users for security breaches will not lead to more effective security systems and that security designers must address the causes of undesirable user behaviour to design effective security systems. Focusing on passwords in...
Privacy in multimedia communications: Protecting users, not just data
As the use of ubiquitous multimedia communication increases so do the privacy risks associated with widespread accessibility and utilisation of data generated by such applications. Most invasions of privacy are not intentional but due to designers inability to...
When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing?
A paper that counters the popular notion of more choice being a good thing. Research in this paper suggests humans make better choices when offered less choice..
Dimensions of privacy concern among online consumers
As one of the numerous bodies investigating factors affecting consumer privacy online, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plays a critical role. We examine these influences, integrating the existing body of research on online privacy with the FTC's fundamental...
Privacy concerns and consumer willingness to provide personal information
The authors examine potential relationships among categories of personal information, beliefs about direct marketing, situational characteristics, specific privacy concerns, and consumers' direct marketing shopping habits. Furthermore, the authors offer an assessment...
Essential psychology for environmental policy making
This articles discusses environmental problems and how we can use psychology to address such problems. It then presents a model for doing so.
Individual differences in reasoning: Implications for the rationality debate?
Recent behavioural research has debunked the idea of humans as entirely rational. This paper suggests the gap between human behaviour and human cognition can in fact be explained not necessarily by irrationality but by: performance errors; computational limitations;...
Attitude change: Persuasion and social influence
This chapter reviews empirical and theoretical developments in research on social influence and message-based persuasion. The review emphasizes research published during the period from 1996-1998. Across these literatures, three central motives have been identified...
Users are not the enemy
In the late 90's, it was largely considered users were unmotivated and lazy when it came to cyber security. This UCL research suggested, actually, users compromised security systems through lack of security knowledge and non-user centric security mechanisms....
Effects of concurrent cognitive task loading on warning compliance behavior
This research examined whether increased cognitive task loading decreases warning compliance behavior. Participants performed a task in which they installed an external disk drive to a computer. Inside the accompanying owner's manual were a set of specific procedures...
Consumer trust in an internet store: A cross-cultural validation
Researchers study the relationship between trust and web purchases across cultures, finding trust in a website most likely increases web purchases across all cultures.
The “social engineering” of internet fraud
This essay outlines common types of internet fraud, discusses the psychological techniques that criminals use to conduct internet fraud and proposes some counter-fraud measures, including educational and technological solutions.
Rethinking the value of choice: A cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation
This study examined the relevance and limitations of research on the benefits of choice. The study finds that, while choice generally seems beneficial, Asian American children were, in fact, more intrinsically motivated when choices were made for them.
Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity? A cultural analysis
Across four studies, East Asians showed a preference for conformity while European Americans demonstrated a preference for uniqueness. Researchers suggest the results highlight the relationship between individual preferences and the adoption and perpetuation of...
Gender differences in risk taking: A meta-analysis
The researchers review 150 studies on the difference in risk-taking behaviour between males and females, concluding that males are typically more risk-seeking than females but that the gap appears to be shrinking over time.
Cross-cultural differences in risk perception, but cross-cultural similarities in attitudes towards perceived risk
This study into the risk preferences of people from various nations found Chinese people and Americans both exhibited the same appetite for risk, but that perceived risk varied greatly between the two cultures.
Inattentional blindness: An overview
Researchers discuss theories and research on the differences in what we see and what we perceive in an effort to further study on why we don't always perceive what we see, and why we sometimes perceive things we don't see.
Prejudice as self-image maintenance: Affirming the self through derogating others
Following three experiments that manipulated participants' self-image, researchers suggest stereotyping may be a common way to maintain one's self-image.
Increasing the persuasiveness of IT security communication: Effects of fear appeals and self-view
IT security professionals strive to instill a systematic approach to security management through awareness training, procedures and policies that govern end user computing. In order to better understand end users’ attitudes about performing relevant security...
Computer-mediated research: Impersonal, interpersonal & hyperpersonal interaction
This paper reviews literature on computer-mediated communication up to its 1996 publication date, explaining that computer-mediated communication can both depreciate as well as enhance how personal a communication is.