Abstract
This paper puts forward the view that an individual’s perception of the risks associated with information systems determines the likelihood and extent to which she or he will engage in risk taking behaviour when using a computer. It is suggested that this behavior can be manipulated by ‘framing’ a communication concerning information system risk in a particular manner. In order to achieve major effectiveness in getting an information security message across to a computer user, this paper discusses and demonstrates how his or her individual cognitive style should be considered when framing the risk message. It then follows that if the risk taking bchaviour of computer users becomes less risky due to an increase in the level of perceived risk, then the level of information security increases.
Chapter PDF
Keywords
8. References
Backhouse J., Bener A., Chauvidul N., Wamala F. & Willison R., 2004, “Risk Management in Cyberspace”, Available at http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Previous_Projects/Cyber_Trust_and_Crime_Prevention/Reports_and_Publications/, viewed 27 April 2005.
Bener, A. B., 2000, “Risk Perception, Trust and Credibility: A Case in Internet Banking”, PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Sciences, Available at http://is.lse.ac.uk/research/theses/default.htm, viewed 27 April 2005.
Chinien, C. A., 1990, “Examination of Cognitive Style FD/FI as a Learner Selection Criterion in Formative Evaluation”, Canadian Journal of Educational Communication, Vol 19, pp. 19–39.
Fischhoff B., Bostrom A. & Quadrel M. J., 1993, “Risk Perception and Communication”, Annual Review of Public Health, Vol. 14, pp. 183–203.
Heimer, C. A., 1988, “Social Structure, Psychology, and the Estimation of Risk”, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol 14, pp. 491–519.
Jackson J., Allum, N. & Gaskell, G., 2004, “Perceptions of Risk in Cyberspace”, Available at http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Previous_Projects/Cyber_Trust_and_Crime_Prevention/Reports_and_Publications/, viewed 27 April 2005.
Johnson C, 2002, Available at http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~johnson/teaching/safety/open_assessments/assess2002.html, viewed 28 July 2004.
McNeil B. J., Pauker S. G., Sox H. C. & Tversky A., 1982, “On the Elicitation of Preferences for Alternative Therapies”, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 306, pp 1259–1262.
Meyerowitz B. E. & Chaiken S., 1987, “The Effect of Message Framing on Breast Self-examination Attitudes, Intentions and Behaviour”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp 500–510.
O’Neill P., 2004, “Developing A Risk Communication Model to Encourage Community Safety from Natural Hazards”, paper presented at the Fourth NSW Safe Communities Symposium, Sydney, NSW.
Otway H. J., 1980, “Risk Perception: A Psychological Perspective”, Technological Risk: Its Perspective and Handling in Europe, M. Dierkes, S. Edwards & R. Coppock.
Russo J. & Schoemaker, P. J. H., 1989, Confident Decision Making, London, Piaktus Press.
Tan F.B., 1999, “Exploring Business-IT Alignment Using the Repertory Grid”, Proceedings of the 10th Australasian Conference on Information Systems.
Tversky A. & Kahneman D., 1981, “The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice”, Science, Vol. 211, pp 243–248.
Wilson R. M. S., 2001, “The Framing of Financial Decisions: A pilot study”, Research Series Paper 2001:3, ISBN 1859011713, Loughborough University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 International Federation for Information Processing
About this paper
Cite this paper
Pattinson, M., Anderson, G. (2005). Risk Communication, Risk Perception and Information Security. In: Dowland, P., Furnell, S., Thuraisingham, B., Wang, X.S. (eds) Security Management, Integrity, and Internal Control in Information Systems. IICIS 2004. IFIP International Federation for Information Processing, vol 193. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-31167-X_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-31167-X_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-29826-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-31167-8
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)