Do Personality Traits Really Impact Susceptibility to Persuasion in Social Engineering? A Study Among UK and Arab Samples

Author:

Muhanad Aya1,Haris Raseena1,Abouelezz Israa1,Barhamgi Mahmoud1,Ali Raian2,K Khaled MD1

Affiliation:

1. Qatar University

2. Hamad Bin Khalifa University

Abstract

Abstract

This study investigates whether personality traits can predict and impact susceptibility to persuasion in potential social engineering scenarios. It also explores cultural differences in such susceptibility. Data was collected through an online survey with 651 participants (329 from the Arab Gulf countries and 322 from the United Kingdom). Personality traits were measured using a validated 10-item scale based on the Big-5 model. Cialdini’s six persuasion principles were employed as a conceptual framework. Participants were presented with 12 scenarios: six featuring the principles and six where the principles were neutralized. They were asked questions about their level of trust in the potential social engineer and their willingness to take risks. We analysed the data to identify differences in susceptibility between the two groups, and regression analyses evaluated the impact of personality traits on susceptibility. The findings reveal no significant difference in susceptibility to persuasion tactics between Arab and UK participants. Additionally, personality traits are weak predictors of susceptibility to persuasion in social engineering scenarios in both samples. Unlike existing studies, our method isolated personality traits and did not mix them with other predictors like age, gender, or competency. This approach allowed us to scrutinize their pure impact. Scenarios were carefully designed, and face validated to be around the same situation but present each principle alone while neutralizing other variables. Previous literature used heterogeneous scenarios, making it hard to pinpoint specific causes. Additionally, this study includes a cross-cultural component with participants from the Arab Gulf countries, a segment often neglected in research.

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Reference51 articles.

1. Boshmaf, Y., Muslukhov, I., Beznosov, K., Ripeanu, M.: The socialbot network: when bots socialize for fame and money. In: Proceedings of the 27th Annual Computer Security Applications Conference. ACM, Orlando Florida USA, pp 93–102 (2011)

2. Social Engineering in Cybersecurity: Effect Mechanisms, Human Vulnerabilities and Attack Methods;Wang Z;IEEE Access.,2021

3. Defining Social Engineering in Cybersecurity;Wang Z;IEEE Access.,2020

4. The Science of Persuasion;Cialdini RB;Sci. Am.,2001

5. The effectiveness of Cialdini’s principles on persuasion in digital marketing (A case study of Iran’s furniture industry);Naruoei B;Int. J. Nonlinear Anal. Appl.,2024

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3