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Effects of Computer Privacy on Help‐Seeking 1
Author(s) -
Karabenick Stuart A.,
Knapp John R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1988.tb00029.x
Subject(s) - microcomputer , psychology , task (project management) , ask price , test (biology) , social psychology , confounding , internet privacy , computer science , statistics , engineering , paleontology , chip , economy , systems engineering , economics , biology , mathematics , telecommunications
Subjects ( N = 28) performing a complex disjunctive concept‐formation task on a microcomputer were given the opportunity to seek help following failure to correctly identify concepts. The proportion of those seeking help was significantly greater when the source of help was the computer itself (86%) rather than another person (36%). Consistent with past research, those who did not ask for help gave reasons other than the potential negative social consequences of doing so. Self‐report data and a systematic test for the presence of experimenter‐induced demand ruled out several possible sources of confounding. The results have implications for designers of time‐sharing and networked computer systems.