The interplay of rational evaluation and motivated reasoning in privacy helplessness: An integrative approach

Abstract

This study investigated the factors that influence individuals’ privacy helplessness in the context of social media and mobile application use. An integrative research model was proposed, simultaneously examining both rational evaluation processes and directional motivated reasoning. The integrative research model was tested using national survey data collected from Facebook users (Study 1, n = 660) and mobile application users (Study 2, n = 385) in the US. The findings demonstrated significant associations between privacy helplessness and factors related to directional motivated reasoning (e.g. perceived rewards, costs, and benefits) as well as the rational evaluation model (e.g. perceived privacy control, trust in the provider, and response efficacy). Moreover, the interaction effects observed in the studies suggest that the two mechanisms either reinforced or attenuated each other's influence. In conclusion, the results emphasize that privacy research should explore both theoretical mechanisms concurrently, as opposed to independently, since they not only operate in conjunction but also interact to define boundary conditions for one another.