The Privacy Paradox Through the Lens of Congruent Level Theory
Description
Research in IS discipline has investigated the antecedents of privacy concerns and how they affect the behavioral outcomes (Smith, Dinev, & Xu, 2011). While numerous studies empirically demonstrated that greater privacy concerns lead to lower intentions to use online services, individuals seem to contradict their stated concerns and demonstrate opposite behavior by disclosing private information. This phenomenon is known as “privacy paradox.†The proposed study offers theoretical lens from psychology through the construal level theory (CLT) (Trope and Liberman, 2010). The theory posits that events that are perceived far from here and now are represented in an abstract (high-level construals) manner that focuses on central characteristics, whereas events that are perceived proximal are represented in a more concrete (low-level construals) fashion that incorporates peripheral concerns. Construal levels influence a broad range of cognitive processes involved in decision-making and can help us better understand the divergence between an individual’s beliefs and behaviors.
The Privacy Paradox Through the Lens of Congruent Level Theory
Research in IS discipline has investigated the antecedents of privacy concerns and how they affect the behavioral outcomes (Smith, Dinev, & Xu, 2011). While numerous studies empirically demonstrated that greater privacy concerns lead to lower intentions to use online services, individuals seem to contradict their stated concerns and demonstrate opposite behavior by disclosing private information. This phenomenon is known as “privacy paradox.†The proposed study offers theoretical lens from psychology through the construal level theory (CLT) (Trope and Liberman, 2010). The theory posits that events that are perceived far from here and now are represented in an abstract (high-level construals) manner that focuses on central characteristics, whereas events that are perceived proximal are represented in a more concrete (low-level construals) fashion that incorporates peripheral concerns. Construal levels influence a broad range of cognitive processes involved in decision-making and can help us better understand the divergence between an individual’s beliefs and behaviors.