{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.017326732673267328, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.892045454545454, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Uncovering the Privacy Paradox: the Influence of Distraction on Data Disclosure Decisions

The discrepancy between individuals’ intention to disclose data and their actual disclosure behaviour is called the privacy paradox. Although a wide range of research has investigated the privacy paradox, it remains insufficiently understood due to mental processes’ role in decision-making being mostly neglected. This research-in-progress provides a theoretical concept that examines the cognitive processes underlying data disclosure decisions to provide a better understanding of the privacy paradox. We apply the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which suggests that the mental shortcuts that individuals take when making their actual data disclosure decision, which differs from their selfreported data disclosure intention, cause the privacy paradox. We propose a two-step, mixed method approach comprising a survey and an online experiment to empirically explore the intended and actual data disclosure. The study takes theoretical and methodological issues in prior literature into account and enhances our understanding of individuals’ paradoxical data disclosure behaviour from a psychological point of view.