When efforts to combat digital piracy unintentionally stoke the very behavior they aim to curb, questions must be asked about the strategies being employed. A recent study published in the Journal of Business Ethics has explored the effectiveness of anti-piracy messages and uncovered a startling gender divide: while women’s piracy intentions were significantly reduced by over 50% when faced with a threatening message, men’s intentions to engage in piracy actually increased by 18%.
The research conducted by the University of Portsmouth’s Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime involved 962 adult participants from the United Kingdom. The study aimed to understand not just whether anti-piracy messages were effective but also how they were received by different genders. Kate Whitman, the lead author of the study, noted, “We know already there are lots of gender differences in piracy as men tend to pirate more than women—they think it’s more acceptable and low-risk. But what we wanted to look at in this research is whether the messages to tackle piracy had a different effect on men and women. We delved into the interplay between gender, attitudes towards piracy and reactions to anti-piracy messages. And what we found is that when it comes to fighting piracy, one size definitely doesn’t fit all.”
The experiment juxtaposed three distinct anti-piracy campaigns: two with a threatening tone—one emphasizing legal consequences and the other highlighting risks such as computer viruses and identity fraud—and a third prosocial educational campaign that focused on the economic and moral impacts of piracy.
The findings were intriguing. “Men and women respond differently to threatening messages,” Whitman told PsyPost. “Men react negatively to threatening messages and actually intend to behave more undesirably as a result of them. This suggests that men are more reactive to threats than women are. We did not expect to find such a distinct polarization in results.”
This gender-specific response might be rooted in evolutionary psychology, where men traditionally took on roles that involved confronting external threats, which could explain their heightened sensitivity to perceived attacks on their freedom. In terms of psychological reactance, the men in the study might view the threatening anti-piracy messages as an infringement on their autonomy and thus respond defiantly.
Moreover, Whitman pointed out the potential influence of confirmation bias: “Strong attitudes added to the gender polarization – men with strong favorable attitudes towards piracy intended to pirate more and women with strong favorable attitudes towards piracy intended to pirate less, as a result of the threatening messages.”
Whitman concluded, “This study shows that men and women process threatening messages differently. There is clearly a need for a tailored approach in anti-piracy messaging, but if messages can’t be accurately targeted to specific genders, they’re best avoided because they might send piracy soaring.”
Relevant articles:
– Anti-piracy messages can cause people to pirate more rather than less, with gender differences. One threatening message influences women to reduce their piracy intentions by over 50% and men to increase it by 18%, finds a new study.
– Psychological reactance: Scientists reveal how anti-piracy messages can backfire among men, PsyPost, Tue, 12 Mar 2024 14:16:43 GMT
– Study finds anti-piracy messages backfire, especially for men, Phys.org, Tue, 20 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT
– Anti-piracy messages encourage MORE piracy — if you’re a man, TNW, Thu, 15 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT