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Situational Privacy and Self-Disclosure

Communication Processes in Online Environments

Authors:

  • Synthesizes independently developed theories of privacy and self-disclosure into one comprehensive theoretical rationale
  • Provides an abstract framework that allows the antecedents of self-disclosure to be identified and systematized into personal and environmental as well as non-situational and situational factors
  • Empirically investigates the theory in the context of smartphone-based communication

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Introduction

    • Philipp K. Masur
    Pages 1-9
  3. The Theory of Situational Privacy and Self-Disclosure

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11
    2. New Media Environments and Their Threats

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 13-31
    3. Theories of Privacy

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 33-68
    4. Theories of Self-Disclosure

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 69-88
    5. Connecting Privacy and Self-Disclosure

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 89-103
  4. Empirical Investigation of Smartphone-Based Communication

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 183-183
    2. Methods

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 215-250
    3. Results

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 251-283
    4. Discussion

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 285-306
  5. Implications and Future Perspectives

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 307-307
    2. Overall Discussion

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 309-329
    3. Overall Conclusion and Outlook

      • Philipp K. Masur
      Pages 331-345
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 347-394

About this book

Using both a theoretical argumentation and an empirical investigation, this book rationalizes the view that in order to understand people’s privacy perceptions and behaviors, a situational perspective needs to be adopted.


To this end, the book is divided into three parts. Part I advances the theory of situational privacy and self-disclosure by discussing impacts of new information and communication technologies on traditional theories of privacy and self-disclosure. Based on five basic suppositions, it describes three major processes of the theory: pre-situational privacy regulations processes, situational privacy perception and self-disclosure processes, and post-situational evaluation processes.  Next, Part II presents the application of the theory to smartphone-based communication. It first analyses how people choose certain communication environments on their smartphones, how they manipulate them, and how these external factors affect self-disclosure within these environments. It then details a multi-method study conducted to test the derived assumptions and discusses the obtained results. Part III reflects on the overall implications of the theory, summarizes the major findings and lastly considers possible extensions and perspectives on future research.


Intended mainly for researchers in privacy and communication studies, the book offers privacy scholars a systematic review of both classic and contemporary theories of privacy and self-disclosure. At the same time, communication scholars benefit from an additional methodological discussion of the mobile experience sampling method, which provides an invaluable approach to measuring situational communication processes.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft, Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

    Philipp K. Masur

About the author

Philipp K. Masur is a research assistant at the Department of Media Psychology at the School of Communication of the University of Hohenheim (Stuttgart, Germany). His research aims to provide insights into computer-mediated communication, and he is especially interested in the psychological experience of privacy in online environments.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Situational Privacy and Self-Disclosure

  • Book Subtitle: Communication Processes in Online Environments

  • Authors: Philipp K. Masur

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78884-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-78883-8Published: 12 July 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-07672-6Published: 10 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-78884-5Published: 28 June 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 394

  • Number of Illustrations: 30 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Communication Studies, Privacy, Media Research, Computers and Society

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access