The Psychology of Security It may be a cliché to say that what the security industry sells is peace of mind, but that’s only because it is true. Rather than services or products, customers and clients pay for the idea of security; in very many cases a physical response may never become necessary. So for security professionals, it is essential we understand the underlying psychology of what makes people feel secure. In his 2000 essay ‘The Psychology of Security’, Bruce Schneier writes, “Security is both a feeling and a reality. And they’re not the same.” The reality of security is a mathematical probability, based on various risk factors combined with their various countermeasures. The feeling of security is based not on mathematical calculations but rather on psychological reactions to both risks and countermeasures.
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It is relatively simple to calculate how secure any given home is from burglary using such factors as its neighbourhood crime rate, presence of security systems, the door- and window-locking habits of the occupants, etc. The likelihood of being murdered in the street by a stranger or in one’s home by a family member can also be calculated. So can the probability of identity theft, based on behavioural patterns. These calculations are performed by insurance companies all of the time, and the actuarial data used to set premiums. But oftentimes,
the feeling of security bears little or no relationship to these statistical probabilities. Feeling Secure vs Being Secure Many of us can probably remember being afraid of the dark as children, even though we were in a safe, secure family home. This is because fear is not always rational, or commensurate with the actual risk of harm, and the perception of risk varies from individual to individual. One person may be deeply concerned about terrorism, and feel comforted by heightened airport security measures, while another may see them purely as an inconvenience. One person might feel they are at high risk of burglary, medium risk of murder, and low risk of identity theft. Meanwhile, their neighbour, in the exact same situation, might feel at a high risk of identity theft, medium risk of burglary, and low risk of murder. To put it more generally, a person can be secure even if they don’t feel secure. And they might feel secure even though they are not. So, even though the feeling and reality of security are related, they are not the same thing. Says Schneier, “We’d probably be better off if we had two different words for them.” But it will be more useful to look at the psychological factors underlying the feeling of security, and see how they correlate to, and are affected by, statistical probabilities. Fortunately, there have been numerous studies that, while not specifically addressing the concept of security, look deeply into the nature of risk, and our response to it. February/March 2022
