Objective of the Study: The Role of Emotion in Risk Communication and Warning: Application to Risks of Failures to Update Software
Principal Investigator: Mohammad Maifi Hasan Khan, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Brief Description:
In this study, users will be asked to evaluate a series of different messages based on various factors related to the persuasiveness of the messages. A survey style experiment will be conducted where users will be asked to evaluate a series of different messages based on various factors related to the persuasiveness of the messages. These messages will vary in different design features (i.e. text size, color, appropriate branding) that have the potential to affect a users’ acceptance rate of an update due to their appeal to the emotional aspects of decision making. In the experimental setup, the messages will incorporate none, some, or all of the various techniques that we are interested in using to improve the adherence to update/warnings. To evaluate the effect of various design features, we will collect user responses to a set of predefined questions (e.g., How likely would you be to accept the update suggested in the warning message?, Rate the noticeability of the message, etc.).
The user will not be given any feedback regarding his/her performance at the end of the study. Participants will receive a $15 amazon gift card via email upon completion of the survey. As a part of the study, we will collect information about the user such as age, education and sex. However, the user’s identity will be anonymized using userID to make sure the identity of the user is not revealed. Each user will be asked to complete surveys at whatever pace they choose, but the total time completing surveys will be approximately 20 to 60 minutes.
To participate, please visit http://warningstudy.engr.uconn.edu
This protocol was approved by the UConn IRB, protocol # H13-186.
Qualification Requirement: The user must be 18 years of age or older.
For more information, contact: Michael Fagan at michael.fagan@uconn.edu