Autonomy Motivators, Serious Games, and Intention Toward ISP Compliance

The Decisions and Disruptions tabletop game serves as an effective pedagogical tool for enhancing employee compliance with information security policies by fostering intrinsic motivation through autonomy. By shifting the focus from traditional, top-down compliance training to a collaborative, scenario-based environment, the game encourages participants to engage with complex security challenges. This approach allows individuals to debate defense strategies and experience the consequences of their decisions in a low-stakes setting, which directly strengthens their behavioral intention to adhere to security protocols in professional environments.

The study, which involved 30 highly educated participants with significant technical experience, utilized pre- and post-assessment questionnaires to measure shifts in autonomy and compliance intent. Statistical analysis of these assessments confirms that the game-based intervention leads to a measurable increase in both security awareness and the internal drive to follow established policies. Key focus areas, such as phishing mitigation and password management, showed marked improvement as participants moved toward consensus-based decision-making.

These findings suggest that serious games represent a viable and well-received alternative to conventional security training methods. By prioritizing autonomy, the game-based framework successfully bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical behavioral change. The positive reception among participants indicates that interactive, consensus-driven learning environments not only improve technical understanding of cyber threats but also cultivate a more proactive and self-motivated approach to organizational information security.