When information security depends on font size : how the saliency of warnings affects protection behavior

Ebert, Nico; Ackermann, Kurt A.; Bearth, Angela

doi:10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-26798

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	When information security depends on font size : how the saliency of warnings affects protection behavior
Authors:	Ebert, Nico Ackermann, Kurt A. Bearth, Angela
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952 10.21256/zhaw-26798
Published in:	Journal of Risk Research
Volume(Issue):	26
Issue:	3
Page(s):	233
Pages to:	255
Issue Date:	14-Nov-2022
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	1366-9877 1466-4461
Language:	English
Subjects:	Cookie banner; Cookie; Digital risk; Information security
Subject (DDC):	005: Computer programming, programs and data
Abstract:	Prior research on how to improve the effectiveness of information security warnings has predominantly focused on either the informational content of warnings or their visual saliency. In an online experiment (N?=?1’486), we disentangle the effect of both manipulations and demonstrate that both factors simultaneously influence decision making. Our data indicate that the proportion of people who engage in protection behavior can be increased by roughly 65% by making a particular warning message more visually salient (i.e. a more conspicuous visual design is used). We also show that varying the message’s saliency can make people behave very differently when confronted with the same threat or behave very similarly when confronted with threats that differ widely in terms of severity of outcomes. Our results suggest that the visual design of a warning may warrant at least as much attention as the informational content that the warning message conveys.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/26798
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement:	School of Management and Law
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Marketing Management (IMM) Institute of Business Information Technology (IWI)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Management and Law

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Ebert, N., Ackermann, K. A., & Bearth, A. (2022). When information security depends on font size : how the saliency of warnings affects protection behavior. Journal of Risk Research, 26(3), 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952

Ebert, N., Ackermann, K.A. and Bearth, A. (2022) ‘When information security depends on font size : how the saliency of warnings affects protection behavior’, Journal of Risk Research, 26(3), pp. 233–255. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952.

N. Ebert, K. A. Ackermann, and A. Bearth, “When information security depends on font size : how the saliency of warnings affects protection behavior,” Journal of Risk Research, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 233–255, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952.

EBERT, Nico, Kurt A. ACKERMANN und Angela BEARTH, 2022. When information security depends on font size : how the saliency of warnings affects protection behavior. Journal of Risk Research. 14 November 2022. Bd. 26, Nr. 3, S. 233–255. DOI 10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952

Ebert, Nico, Kurt A. Ackermann, and Angela Bearth. 2022. “When Information Security Depends on Font Size : How the Saliency of Warnings Affects Protection Behavior.” Journal of Risk Research 26 (3): 233–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952.

Ebert, Nico, et al. “When Information Security Depends on Font Size : How the Saliency of Warnings Affects Protection Behavior.” Journal of Risk Research, vol. 26, no. 3, Nov. 2022, pp. 233–55, https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2022.2142952.