Keywords

language; bilingualism; trust behavior; phishing; scams

Abstract

Trust is an essential component of social relationships and is connected to how we make informed decisions. Humans tend to use mental shortcuts to arrive to decisions, a strategy which may be exploited by scammers. As online scams have become more common, it is critical to understand factors that can influence appraisal of potentially untrustworthy sources. The present study focused on language, in the form of self-reported bilingualism, and its relation to scam susceptibility. Language is a factor that contributes to alterations in brain structure, cognitive performance, and cognitive control systems. Bilinguals show advantages in the form of increased synaptic density and coupling which can leave highly efficient neural circuitry following early language acquisition. There is also potential for disadvantages, especially in the form of deficiencies in semantic fluency and lexical task accuracy. The present study investigated bilingualism in the realm of defense and protection from a form of cyber-attack known as phishing. The ability to detect trustworthiness or suspiciousness is the ultimate defense against scam victimization. Results supported the hypothesis that bilinguals have greater phishing classification accuracy and confidence shown by a higher end-game score during The Phishing Email Suspicion Test (PEST). Post-hoc analyses indicated marginally lower rates of false alarms and marginally higher correct rejections in bilinguals compared with monolinguals. In contrast, results did not support the hypothesis that self-reported general trust is associated with overall performance on the PEST, but some indication that lower general trust predicted more false alarms (classifying safe emails as phishing) and higher general trust predicted more misses (classifying phishing emails as safe). As the population of bilinguals is expected to increase along with sophisticated scams, this study highlights the importance of understanding the neurocognitive mechanisms associated with additional language learning and its potential impacts on decision making and trust-related behavior.

Thesis Completion Year

2024

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Lighthall, Nichole

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Thesis Discipline

Psychology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Rights Statement

In Copyright