Displaying Software Installation Agreements to Motivate Users’ Reading

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify an effective display mode that best motivates software users to read the software installation agreements before downloading, thereby enhancing their understanding of intellectual property rights and preventing potential legal issues. This study randomly assigned the participants to enter either an eye-tracking or a computer-based experiment in which one of three display modes was presented. A computer-based pre-test and post-test related to intellectual property rights were given to the participants. The final results showed that the “keyword mode” was the most effective in keeping their attention on the key content. The results of a survey about software installation experiences and attitudes toward reading software installation agreements and the follow-up interviews confirmed the experimental findings. The study’s contribution lies in revealing to software providers the most effective reading mode that best enhances the software users’ understanding of the moral and legal concepts.