Think or Respond: Understanding the Impact of Cognitive Appraisals on Threat Detection and Phishing Susceptibility

ABSTRACT This paper proposes and validates a model that describes the influences of cognitive appraisals, including threat appraisal, coping appraisal and message appraisal of information integrity on phishing susceptibility, and explore threat detection as a mediating mechanism underlying their effects. Threat detection is crucial particularly as AI makes phishing more difficult to identify. An online scenario‐based survey involving an attack scenario using a phishing email with 313 participants was conducted to validate the proposed model. Findings reveal that threat detection and perceived severity are associated with reduced phishing susceptibility, while perceived vulnerability and perceived information integrity increase it. Although self‐efficacy predicts threat detection, it does not directly reduce responses to phishing messages. Additionally, threat detection mediates the effects of perceived severity and perceived information integrity. This paper contributes to phishing research by integrating information security behavior and message‐related literature. It underscores the importance of user education, emphasizing online literacy and cautious engagement with unsolicited messages to counter phishing threats.