Lynne Coventry

Bio: Lynne Coventry is an academic researcher from Northumbria University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Computational trust & Usability. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 71 publications receiving 649 citations.

Nudging towards security: developing an application for wireless network selection for android phones

Abstract: People make security choices on a daily basis without fully considering the security implications of those choices. In this paper we present a prototype application which promotes the choice of secure wireless network options, specifically when users are unfamiliar with the wireless networks available. The app was developed based on behavioural theory, choice architecture and good practices informed by HCI design. The app includes several options to 'nudge' users towards selecting more secure public wireless networks. This paper outlines the development and the results of an evaluation of some of the potential app nudges (specifically, presentation order and colour coding). Colour coding was found to be a powerful influence, less so with the order in which we listed the Wi-Fi networks, although the colour x order combination was most effective. The paper contributes to the body of evidence on the effectiveness of cyber-security interventions to empower the user to make more informed security decisions.

Assistive technology for older adults: psychological and socio-emotional design requirements

Abstract: The EU-funded multi-disciplinary DALi (Devices for Assisted Living) project aims to develop a semi-autonomous, intelligent mobility aid for older adults, which supports navigation in crowded and unstructured environments. We demonstrate the necessity to consider hitherto underexplored user-inclusive requirements which address psychological and socio-emotional needs of users. Using a qualitative methodology, including focus groups and interviews, our results showed that the design of the intelligent walker for older adults has to address issues of anticipated or experienced socio-emotional and psychological costs, including self-consciousness, pride, embarrassment, fear of being stigmatised and not wanting to admit a need. We suggest potential design strategies to increase emotional benefits and reduce psychological and emotional costs associated with use of assistive technology, thus facilitating product adoption.

"If It's Important It Will Be A Headline": Cybersecurity Information Seeking in Older Adults

Abstract: Older adults are increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks and scams. Yet we know relatively little about their understanding of cybersecurity, their information-seeking behaviours, and their trusted sources of information and advice in this domain. We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with community-dwelling older adults in order to explore their cybersecurity information seeking behaviours. Following a thematic analysis of these interviews, we developed a cybersecurity information access framework that highlights shortcomings in older adults' choice of information resources. Specifically, we find that older users prioritise social resources based on availability, rather than cybersecurity expertise, and that they avoid using the Internet for cybersecurity information searches despite using it for other domains. Finally, we discuss the design of cybersecurity information dissemination strategies for older users, incorporating favoured sources such as TV adverts and radio programming.

Barriers to older adults' uptake of mobile-based mental health interventions.

Abstract: BackgroundTo address increasing demand of mental healthcare treatments for older adults and the need to reduce delivery costs, healthcare providers are turning to mobile applications. The importanc...

SCENE: A Structured Means for Creating and Evaluating Behavioral Nudges in a Cyber Security Environment

Abstract: Behavior-change interventions are common in some areas of human-computer interaction, but rare in the domain of cybersecurity. This paper introduces a structured approach to working with organisations in order to develop such behavioral interventions or ‘nudges’. This approach uses elements of co-creation together with a set of prompts from the behavior change literature (MINDSPACE) that allows resesarchers and organisational stakeholders to work together to identify a set of nudges that might promote best behavioral practice. We describe the structured approach or framework, which we call SCENE, and follow this description with a worked example of how the approach has been utilised effectively in the development of a nudge to mitigate insecure behaviors around selection of wireless networks.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Abstract: NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

The Social Psychology of Groups

Abstract: The Social Psychology of Groups. J. W Thibaut & H. H. Kelley. New York: alley, 1959. The team of Thibaut and Kelley goes back to 1946 when, after serving in different units of the armed services psychology program, the authors joined the Research Center for Group Dynamics, first at M.LT and then at the University of Michigan. Their continued association eventuated in appointments as fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 19561957. It is during these years that their collaboration resulted in the publication of The Social Psychology of Groups. The book was designed to "bring order and coherence to present-day research in interpersonal relations and group functioning." To accomplish this aim, the authors introduced, defined, and illustrated basic concepts in an effort to explain the simplest of social phenomena, the two-person relationship. These basic principles and concepts were then employed to illuminate larger problems and more complex social relationships and to examine the significance of such concepts as roles, norm, power, group cohesiveness, and status. The lasting legacy of this book is derived from the fact that the concepts and principles discussed therein serve as a foundation for one of the dominant conceptual frameworks in the field of family studies today-the social exchange framework. Specifically, much of our contemporary thinking about the process of interpersonal attraction and about how individuals evaluate their close relationships has been influenced by the theory and concepts introduced in The Social Psychology of Groups. Today, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley, we think of interpersonal attraction as resulting from the unique valence of driving and restraining forces, rewards and costs, subjectively thought to be available from a specific relationship and its competing alternatives. We understand, as well, that relationships are evaluated through complex and subjectively based comparative processes. As a result, when we think about assessing the degree to which individuals are satisfied with their relationships, we take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the importance they attribute to different aspects of a relationship (e.g., financial security, sexual fulfillment, companionship). We also take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the levels of rewards and costs that they believe are realistically obtainable and deserved from a relationship. In addition, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley's theoretical focus on the concept of dependence and the interrelationship between attraction and dependence, there has evolved within the field of family studies a deeper appreciation for the complexities and variability found within relationships. Individuals are dependent on their relationships, according to Thibaut and Kelley, when the outcomes derived from the existing relationship exceed those perceived to be available in competing alternatives. Individuals who are highly dependent on their relationships are less likely to act to end their relationships. This dependence and the stability it engenders may or may not be voluntary, depending on the degree to which individuals are attracted to and satisfied with their relationships. When individuals are both attracted to and dependent on their relationships, they can be thought of as voluntarily participating in their relationship. That is, they are likely to commit themselves to the partner and relationship and actively work for its continuance. Thibaut and Kelley termed those relationships characterized by low levels of satisfaction and high levels of dependence "nonvoluntary relationships. …