The Privacy Calculus Revisited: An Empirical Investigation of Online Privacy Decisions on Between- and Within-Person Levels

Abstract

The privacy calculus assumes that people weigh perceived privacy risks and benefits before disclosing personal information. So far, empirical studies investigated the privacy calculus on a between-person level and, therefore, were not able to make statements about the intrapersonal psychological processes. In the present preregistered online within-person experiment, participants (N = 485) were asked to imagine three different disclosure situations in which privacy risks were indicated by a privacy score. As personality variables, rational and intuitive privacy decision-making styles and privacy resignation were assessed. Results of a within-between random effects model showed that benefit perceptions were positively associated with self-disclosure intentions on between- and within-person levels. The privacy score was found to be effective in supporting users to make more privacy aware choices (within-person level). Finally, the rational decision-making style was positively related to privacy risk perception, while especially intuitive decision-makers can benefit from decision-making aids like the privacy score.