개인정보침해로 인한 소비자의 부정적 감정의 탐색적 연구: 자기관찰을 통한 근거이론분석을 중심으로

In modern information society, consumers are not free from infringement on personal informationand, as a result, they experience negative emotions such as anger, irritation, and embarrassment. This study focuses on consumers' negative emotions caused by daily infringement on personalinformation. The study demonstrates the evolution of the negative emotion process, whichinvolves the formation, change, and relief of negative emotions using a self-observation andconstructing grounded theory. It was found that consumers felt 16 negative emotions, such as anger, irritation, embarrassment,fear, anxiety, and annoyance, when they experienced infringement on personal information. Amongthem, anger, irritation, and embarrassment were exhibited most frequently. Initial/following,and aggressive/passive emotion categories were revealed based on condition-consequence andtime-constructive relationship methods of constructing grounded theory. Aggressive emotionssuch as anger and irritation, which have the highest frequencies and levels of occurrence, werethe most typical emotion types. Consumers felt aggressive emotions when their own imageswere tarnished, their money was stolen, or their personal information were not managed well bymajor companies. Consumers with aggressive emotions showed active and constructive behavioralresponses such as voicing and exiting. Gradually, the aggressive emotions were relieved partlyor extended to the following emotions, depression and frustration. Most negative emotions thatwere not relieved led to following emotions with passive and unconstructive behavioral responses such as abandonment, reclusion, and evasion because of an unresolved infringement problemsand personal information managers’ poor ability to cope with them. Negative behavioral responseswere shown in the form of neglect, voicing, exiting, remaining with self-plans, abandonment,reclusion, and evasion. The consequences of negative behavioral responses were inadequatesocial security systems and incompetent consumers, and it led to unresolved and continuousinfringement problems, including a vicious circle of negative emotions and behavioral responses. The study provided useful data and suggestions on handling infringement issues for publicagencies, counsellors, consumer education agencies, and managers of personal information suchas businesses and researchers on consumer emotions.