Their intention was to depict the role played by personal morals and emotions in encouraging or discouraging the vice of illegal downloading. According to Wang et al (2011, p.155), the authors hypothesised that a downloader who has previously engaged in illegal downloading may experience anticipated guilt because of their undesirable behaviour, and therefore will be less likely to engage in the same in future, unlike those who have had no illegal downloading experience. However, if the act of illegal downloading results in a positive experience for the downloader, in future this positive experience will override the anticipated guilt and thus will not serve as a deterrent (Wang et al (2011, p.157).
They were able to prove this by conducting a survey on 63 university students. University students comprise of the youth thus they form a fertile ground for the survey. However, the research is questionable because the sample presented by Wang et al (2011, p.155) comprised of 63% female participants, and over 80% of the whole sample was white. The sample was heavily skewed in favour of white women and therefore may not be representative of the active downloading population.
The results presented by Wang et al (2011, p.157) prove their hypothesis while showing a clear distinction between the effects of general anticipated emotions, and anticipated guilt.
This article would definitely make the world a better place because it provides information that is useful to both policy makers and the industry players. For example, Wang et al (2011, p.158) suggests that this information may be used to initiate effective anti-piracy campaigns that target morality and human emotion.
References
Wang, X., McClung, S.R. (2011, September 15). The immorality of illegal downloading: The role of anticipated guilt and general emotions. Computers In Human Behaviour – Elselvier Journal. No. 0747- 5632 : NY
