Application of Protection Motivation Theory to Adoption of Protective Technologies

While most technology adoption models have focused on beneficial technologies, protection motivation theory (PMT) is a potentially valuable model for predicting adoption of protective technologies, which help users avoid harm from a growing number of negative technologies, such as malware. We present a PMT-based model of users' intentions to adopt anti-spyware software and test the model on undergraduate student computer users. Results show that perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, response efficacy, and response cost influence behavioral intention to use anti-spyware software as a protective technology. Maladaptive coping was affected to a much lesser degree by these variables, although it did have its own significant effect on behavioral intention. Results are compared to the small but growing number of promising PMT-based research models investigating technology adoption.