Nudging with construal level theory to improve online password use and intended password choice

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on a potential tradeoff between security and usability in people’s use of online passwords – in general, complex passwords are secure and desirable but difficult to use (i.e. difficult to memorize) whereas simple passwords are easy to use, but are insecure and undesirable. Construal level theory (CLT) explains how high vs low construal level causes people to focus on “desirability” vs “feasibility” of an action, which in the research context can translate into the “security” vs “usability” of using passwords. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a series of three laboratory experiments manipulating people’s construal level and investigating its impact on password use. Findings The authors found that people who were induced to think at a high construal level created or showed intention to choose stronger passwords relative to people who were induced to think at a low construal level. Furthermore, this effect was also significantly different from the control group who did not receive any experimental treatment. In addition, the authors found that perspective taking targeted at the desirability of creating a strong password further strengthened the effect of a high construal level on intended password choice. Originality/value This research makes several contributions to existing literature on password security. First, this research offers CLT as a theoretical lens to explain an individual’s thinking and behavior concerning online password use. Second, this research offers empirical evidence that a high construal level improves users’ password use, a desirable feature for improved security. Third, this research contributes to the literature on how to apply nudging to influence human behavior toward more desirable, stronger, password use. Finally, our research identifies PT as a factor enhancing the positive effect of a high construal level on online users’ password use.

The application of emotions, sharing motivations, and psychological distance in examining the intention to share COVID-19-related fake news

“…Closely associated with psychological distance, construal level theory is an important area of consumer behavior research and provides a framework that relates psychological distance and construal level. The theory proposes that psychological distance affects how people construe the event; varying levels of psychological distance, through an individual's mental construal of an object, event, or construct, affect their evaluation, prediction, and decision-making (Chu and Yang, 2019; Kaleta et al. , 2019).…”

“…Closely associated with psychological distance, construal level theory is an important area of consumer behavior research and provides a framework that relates psychological distance and construal level. The theory proposes that psychological distance affects how people construe the event; varying levels of psychological distance, through an individual's mental construal of an object, event, or construct, affect their evaluation, prediction, and decisionmaking (Chu and Yang, 2019;Kaleta et al, 2019). A relationship exists between construal level and psychological distance, where individuals tend to represent psychologically distant events through high construal levels and psychologically proximal events through low construal levels (Trope and Liberman, 2010).…”

Destination selection: Influence of tourists’ personality on perceived travel constraints

“…The aforementioned information search behaviors could be moderated by temporal distance conditions, which can be explained through the CLT (Fiedler, 2007; Fujita et al, 2006; Kaleta et al, 2019; Stillman et al, 2018). CLT has been used to explain many consumer-related behavior (Fiedler, 2007; Fujita et al, 2006; Pizzi et al, 2014; Teng and Chang, 2014).…”

“…They view an event in more abstract terms and focus on primary features or concerns of the event. However, at a low psychological distance, they are likely to interpret an event in more concrete terms and focus on the secondary features or concerns of the event (Janakiraman and Ordonez, 2012; Kaleta et al, 2019; Stillman et al, 2018; Trope and Liberman, 2003).…”

“…Construal level theory (CLT) (Fiedler, 2007; Kaleta et al, 2019; Stillman et al, 2018) is useful in explaining consumer behavior under uncertainty (Trautmann and van de Kuilen, 2012) and in issues that extend for long periods of time (Fiedler, 2007). As per CLT, temporal distances affect how individuals assess an event by changing their perception of the event.…”