Cognition and Predictors of Password Selection and Usability

Computer passwords represent a secure authentication process used to access electronic information. Inconsequential of data storage location many of us utilize multiple unique computer passwords to access information on a daily basis. Since the design of password requirements are contingent upon the system provider, recalling various passwords is cognitively demanding and results in insecure practices such as writing down passwords visible to passerby. This study examines the task of password selection to improve human computer interaction. Categorizing personality through the locus of control internal and external scale and cognitive factors through memory associations advances understanding of password decision making. These classifications establish associations for predictive password selection informed by the behavioral decision process. This study addresses a design gap in the utility of passwords and describes quantified convergent dispositional factors gathered through valid instruments. Psychological fields of personality, memory cognition and behavioral decision making inform usability in the human computer interaction area of computer science.