Cognitive Dissonance–Based Priming Intervention: Randomized Encouragement With in-the-Wild Phishing Simulation Attack in Health Care - Summary - MDSpire

Cognitive Dissonance–Based Priming Intervention: Randomized Encouragement With in-the-Wild Phishing Simulation Attack in Health Care

  • By

  • Prosper Kandabongee Yeng

  • Muhammad Ali Fauzi

  • Arnstein Vestad

  • Bian Yang

  • Katrien De Moor

  • Christian Jacobsen

  • John-Bosco Diekuu

  • Meriem Bettayeb

  • June 1, 2026

  • 0 min

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Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive dissonance (CD)–based intervention in reducing phishing susceptibility among healthcare staff during a real-world phishing simulation.

Key Findings:
  • Exposure to the CD-based intervention was associated with differences in observed phishing susceptibility.
  • The intervention aimed to disrupt rationalizations that lead to unsafe email practices.
Interpretation:

Limitations:
  • The sample size for the intervention group was relatively small (n=40).
  • Nonresponse was treated as nonreceipt, which may affect the generalizability of the findings.
Conclusion:

This study integrates cognitive dissonance theory with real-world behavioral measurement in the context of phishing prevention in healthcare.

Original Source(s)

Cognitive Dissonance–Based Priming Intervention: Randomized Encouragement With in-the-Wild Phishing Simulation Attack in Health Care

  • by Prosper Kandabongee Yeng, Muhammad Ali Fauzi, Arnstein Vestad, Bian Yang, Katrien De Moor, Christian Jacobsen, John-Bosco Diekuu, Meriem Bettayeb

  • June 1, 2026

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