TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………. iv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ………………………………………………………………………………. viii
LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………………………………………. ix
SECTION
1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………….1
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………………………………………………..3
2.1. EFFECT OF USER BEHAVIOR ON INFORMATION SECURITY ………….3

2.2. MESSAGE FRAMING …………………………………………………………………………8
3. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION AND HYPOTHESES ……………………………….12
3.1. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION: PROSPECT THEORY ………………………12
3.2. HYPOTHESES …………………………………………………………………………………..15
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………………22
4.1. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN ………………………………………………………………..22
4.2. RESEARCH PROCEDURES ……………………………………………………………….26
4.3. MEASUREMENT ………………………………………………………………………………28
4.3.1. Importance of Primary Computer …………………………………………………28
4.3.2. Threat Severity …………………………………………………………………………..29
4.3.3. Trust …………………………………………………………………………………………30
4.3.4. Fear ………………………………………………………………………………………….31
4.3.5. Tolerance towards Ads ……………………………………………………………….31
4.3.6. Manipulation Check …………………………………………………………………..32
4.3.7. Demographics and Subject’s Background Questionnaire ………………..33
4.3.8. Cybersecurity Awareness Questionnaire ……………………………………….33
4.3.9. Check Questions ………………………………………………………………………..34
4.4. PILOT TESTS ……………………………………………………………………………………35
5. DATA ANALYSIS ……………………………………………………………………………………36
5.1. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF SUBJECTS ………………………………37
5.2. MEASUREMENT VALIDATION ……………………………………………………….39
5.3. MULTINOMIAL LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS ……………………..43
5.4. CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………….49
5.5. UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR TIPPING POINT ………52
6. DISCUSSIONS………………………………………………………………………………………….58
7. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ………………………………………………61
8. CONCLUSIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………….63
APPENDICES
A. SCENARIO DETAILS ………………………………………………………………………………65
B. EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS ……………………………………………………………..67
C. MANIPULATION CHECK QUESTIONS …………………………………………………..72
D. CONTROL CONDITION ………………………………………………………………………….74
E. QUESTIONNAIRE TO ASSESS PERCEPTUAL OUTCOMES …………………….79

F. QUESTIONNAIRE TO ASSESS DEMOGRAPHICS INFORMATION ………….82

G. QUESTIONNAIRE TO ASSESS USERS’ CYBERSECURITY
AWARENESS ………………………………………………………………………………………….84

BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………………………………………..86
VITA ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….92