Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Personality Traits on Cybersecurity Awareness
A Scientometric and Network-Based Approach
Copyright (c) 2026 Laska Pál Károly
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between personality traits and cybersecurity awareness through a bibliometric and network analysis of scientific publications indexed in Scopus between 2000 and 2023. Using VOSviewer software, the research identifies keyword co-occurrence patterns, thematic clusters and temporal research trends in this interdisciplinary domain. The scientometric approach is complemented with theoretical insights from psychology – particularly the Big Five personality model – and cybersecurity behaviour research. Results indicate that personality traits significantly shape security awareness, influencing susceptibility to social engineering, phishing and compliance behaviour. Network analysis highlights the increasing integration of psychological constructs into cybersecurity education and policy. The study argues for the adoption of personality-based adaptive training programs, particularly in the public sector, where tailored interventions can enhance resilience against human-factor-related security breaches.
Keywords:
How to Cite
References
AMANKWA, Eric – LOOCK, Marianne – KRITZINGER, Elmarie (2020): A Composite Framework to Promote Information Security Policy Compliance in Organizations. In SERRHINI, Mohammed –SILVA, Carla – ALJAHDALI, Sultan (eds.): Innovation in Information Systems and Technologies to Support Learning Research. Cham: Springer, 458–468. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36778-7_51
BARABÁSI, Albert-László – ALBERT, Réka (1999): Emergence of Scaling in Random Networks. Science, 286(5439), 509–512. Online: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5439.509
BEN SALAMAH, Fai – PALOMINO, Marco A. – CRAVEN, Matthew J. – PAPADAKI, Maria – FURNELL, Steven (2023): An Adaptive Cybersecurity Training Framework for the Education of Social Media Users at Work. Applied Sciences, 13(17). Online: https://doi.org/10.3390/app13179595
BLASCO, Jorge – QUAGLIA, Elizabeth A. (2018): InfoSec Cinema: Using Films for Information Security Teaching. ASE 2018 – USENIX Workshop on Advances in Security Education, Co-Located with USENIX Security 2018. Conference Paper. Online: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/ase18/ase18-paper_blasco.pdf
BOBAN, Marija (2014): Information Security and the Right to Privacy in Digital Economy – The Case of the Republic of Croatia. 2014 37th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO), 26–30 May 2014, Opatija, Croatia. Online: https://doi.org/10.1109/MIPRO.2014.6859804
DOUCEK, Petr – BASL, Josef – PAVLICEK, Antonin M. – TJOA, A. Min – DETTER, Katrin – RAFFAI, Maria eds. (2019): Research and Practical Issues of Enterprise Information Systems. Cham: Springer. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37632-1
MCCORMAC, Agata – ZWAANS, Tara – PARSONS, Kathryn – CALIC, Dragana – BUTAVICIUS, Marcus – PATTINSON, Malcolm (2017): Individual Differences and Information Security Awareness. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 151–156. Online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.065
PADAYACHEE, Keshnee (2022): Understanding the Effects of Situational Crime Prevention and Personality Factors on Insider Compliance. Journal of Information Security and Applications, 70. Online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jisa.2022.103338
PONT, Ana – MATA, Francisco J. eds. (2016): ICT for Promoting Human Development and Protecting the Environment. Cham: Springer. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44447-5
Scopus (2023): Content Coverage Guide. Online: https://assets.ctfassets.net/o78em1y1w4i4/EX1iy8VxBeQKf8aN2XzOp/c36f79db25484cb38a5972ad9a5472ec/Scopus_ContentCoverage_Guide_WEB.pdf
UFFEN, Jörg – GUHR, Nadine – BREITNER, Michael H. (2012): Personality Traits and Information Security Management: An Empirical Study of Information Security Executives. International Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2012. Conference Paper. Online: https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2012/proceedings/ISSecurity/5
UFFEN, Jörg – BREITNER, Michael H. (2015): Management of Technical Security Measures: An Empirical Examination of Personality Traits and Behavioral Intentions. In Standards and Standardization: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications. Hershey: IGI Global, 836–853. Online: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8111-8.ch039
WANG, Dawei (David) – DURCIKOVA, Alexandra – DENNIS, Alan R. (2023): Security Is Local: The Influence of the Immediate Workgroup on Information Security. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 24(4), 1052–1101. Online: https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00812
WANG, Zuoguang – ZHU, Hongsong – SUN, Limin (2021): Social Engineering in Cybersecurity: Effect Mechanisms, Human Vulnerabilities and Attack Methods. IEEE Access, 9, 11895–11910. Online: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3051633
WATTS, Duncan J. – STROGATZ, Steven H. (1998): Collective Dynamics of “Small-World” Networks. Nature, 393(6684), 440–442. Online: https://doi.org/10.1038/30918
WEEMS, Carl F. – AHMED, Irfan – RICHARD, Golden G. III – RUSSELL, Justin D. – NEILL, Erin L. (2018): Susceptibility and Resilience to Cyber Threat: Findings from a Scenario Decision Program to Measure Secure and Insecure Computing Behavior. PLoS One, 13(12). Online: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207408
YENG, Prosper K. – FAUZI, Muhammad A. – YANG, Bian (2021): Assessing the Effect of Human Factors in Healthcare Cybersecurity Practice: An Empirical Study. In VASSILAKOPOULOS, Michael Gr. – KARANIKOLAS, Nikitas N. (eds.): PCI 2021: Proceedings of the 25th Pan–Hellenic Conference on Informatics. New York: Association for Computing Machinery, 472–476. Online: https://doi.org/10.1145/3503823.3503909