Unrealistic optimism in internet events

Authors:
Jamonn Campbell;Nathan Greenauer;Kristin Macaluso;Christian End
Affiliations:
Department of Psychology, Franklin Science Center, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA 17257, USA;Department of Psychology, Franklin Science Center, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA 17257, USA;Department of Psychology, Franklin Science Center, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA 17257, USA;Department of Psychology, Franklin Science Center, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA 17257, USA
Venue:
Computers in Human Behavior
Year:
2007

Citing 0
Cited 5

Toward a comprehensive theory of problematic Internet use: Evaluating the role of self-esteem, anxiety, flow, and the self-rated importance of Internet activities

Computers in Human Behavior
Optimistic bias about online privacy risks: Testing the moderating effects of perceived controllability and prior experience

Computers in Human Behavior
"IT's complicated...": influence of perceived sacrifice and trust on eservice adoption

EGOV'11 Proceedings of the 10th IFIP WG 8.5 international conference on Electronic government
The security cost of cheap user interaction

Proceedings of the 2011 workshop on New security paradigms workshop
A pilot study of cyber security and privacy related behavior and personality traits

Proceedings of the 22nd international conference on World Wide Web companion

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

This study assessed the tendency for individuals to be unrealistically optimistic about internet related activities. Ninety-seven participants estimated their chances of experiencing 31 positive and negative internet events compared to the average student at their school. The data indicated that students believed positive internet events were more likely to happen to them and negative events were less likely to happen to them compared to the average student. Heavy internet users reported more optimistic responses than did light users. Perceptions of event characteristics (controllability, desirability, and personal experience) were also significantly correlated with optimistic bias.