Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Reed College of Media

Department

Reed College of Media

Committee Chair

Hongmin Ahn

Committee Co-Chair

Nicholas Bowman

Committee Member

Elizabeth Oppe

Committee Member

Steve Urbanski.

Abstract

This study aims to identify psychological factors that predict one's likelihood to disengage with privacy-threatening activities on Social Networking Sites (SNS). Particularly, it pays special attention to the concept of narcissism and its impact on one's response to SNS privacy-threatening situations. By evaluating narcissism in two different ways --- grandiose and vulnerable --- the study attempts to provide a better understanding of the role of narcissism in SNS usage and concerns over privacy issues. Study I shows that vulnerable narcissism has a significant influence on consumers' likelihood of disengaging with privacy-threatening activities on SNS while grandiose narcissism has no influence. Self-esteem, computer anxiety, and concern for information privacy also have significant influence on consumers' responses to privacy-threatening events on SNS. Study II further suggests that when people experience interpersonal rejection threats on SNS, the effect of vulnerable narcissism on one's intention to disengage with privacy-threatening activity is largely attenuated. The findings from two studies offer insight into the psychological process by which narcissism influences privacy concerns over SNS in both macro and micro levels.

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