The Role of Screen Luminance and Typeface on Willingness to Divulge Information

This study seeks to understand what design factors best aid in the elicitation of behaviors, specifically disclosure behaviors, from one party to another with the intent to provide some form of service. I looked at the medical industry to see how to create the best possible quality of care all while ensuring that the patient information is collected accurately and quickly. With healthcare in the United States becoming increasingly expensive along with the multitude of people seeking attention, the time that physicians have is scare. This scarcity can affect the type and quality of care that a patient would receive. Therefore, creating an online form to gather patient data would reduce time so long as the information was collected via a trusted method and patients were honest in their disclosure. The quality of the face-to-face time in a physician’s office would increase with increased honesty from patients, as the physician would be able to properly prepare for the appointment. This study examines whether screen lighting and typeface could influence a patient's disclosure of problem behaviors, such as smoking or drinking, the patient's rating of the importance of honesty, and the patient's perceptions of privacy and confidentiality during the disclosure. The results showed that Sans Serif [Arial] typeface was more effective in eliciting problem behavior disclosure. Perceptions and disclosure in relation to background color did not yield overwhelming results either way.