Disclosure apprehension: The influence of media and survey technique on the disclosure of sensitive information

Measuring behavior that has a social stigma attached to it is difficult because people do not respond exactly the way they behave. This is due to the apprehension that people have about disclosing such behaviors. The repercussion that they may face is a powerful fact that mitigates their responses. Therefore, to study specific contexts such as unethical behavior, researchers have devised techniques to keep the respondents anonymous (Dalton & Metzger, 1992). In this study, unethical behavior is measured by using two techniques that are compared in an online setting: unmatched count technique (UCT) and a nominal technique. Using these techniques, the impact of technology on the disclosure apprehension is studied. Disclosure apprehension is a perception that has positive and negative valence for a subject who is faced with a request to disclose sensitive information. The results show that UCT is better for obtaining disclosure of sensitive information. Individual traits such as neuroticism and openness to experience along with media characteristics (persistence and interactivity) were shown to affect disclosure apprehension. Persistence is the ability of the media to retain content that passes through it. Both persistence and interactivity were found to have significant overall effects.