The following comparison of Westin’s and Altman’s theories of privacy will summarize themes already discussed and will introduce new ideas to further highlight their similarities and differences. Both have contributed to and stimulated
research and theory on privacy as a psychological concept. One measure of their impact is that, in 1977, there were few published studies of privacy that either derived from or were inspired by then-current theories of privacy, including Altman’s and Westin’s (Margulis, 1977). However, for Altman and Westin, that no longer is the case.