IP Outreach Research > IP Crime
Reference
| Title: | Low Self-Control and Social Learning in Understanding Students' Intentions to Pirate Movies in the United States |
| Author: | George E Higgins and Brian D Fell [University of Louisville], Abby L Wilson [University of California, Irvine] |
| Source: | Social Science Computer Review 25, no. 3: 339-357 |
| Year: | 2007 |
Details
| Subject/Type: | Piracy |
| Focus: | Film |
| Country/Territory: | United States of America |
| Objective: | To examine the link between low self-control, movie-pirating peers, software-piracy attitudes, moral beliefs and movie piracy likelihood. |
| Sample: | 338 American university students |
| Methodology: | Questionnaire |
Main Findings
The following factors are found to have an impact on an individual's intention to perform digital movie piracy: low self-control (i.e. the inability to resist a temptation when an opportunity presents itself; lack of self-restraint: the inability to acknowledge long-term consequences of individual actions favours movie piracy), associating with movie-pirating peers (associating with peers who pirate movies makes pirating likelier), pirating attitudes (believing that piracy is acceptable increases the likelihood of movie pirating), and previous movie piracy (previous piracy erodes the inhibitions against future piracy). The link between low self-control (and also previous piracy) and movie piracy likelihood is strongest when the individual in question at the same time displays substantial association with movie-pirating peers and positive attitudes toward piracy. However, moral beliefs do not appear to have a significant link with movie piracy likelihood.
Suggested policy implications are: influence the group process by educational messages highlighting movie piracy risks and by implementing information security awareness training emphasising movie piracy as a crime.
[Date Added: Aug 12, 2008 ]