Doing more with less: Behavioral insights for anti-piracy messages

Abstract

Using the lens of behavioral economics, we analyze recurrent elements used in anti-piracy messages: statistics on infringements, quantifications of economic losses caused by piracy, and a mix of strong and weak arguments. We argue that the more-is-better heuristic used in these messages can generate counterproductive outcomes because of the statistical victim bias, the scope severity paradox, the social norm trap, and the excessive number of arguments. While “the higher the numbers, the more convincing they are” seems appealing, we show that this logic is flawed and can be detrimental for the attainment of the desired objectives. We propose to design messages based on the homo heuristicus perspective, which activate and channel automatic processes in human beings toward desirable directions.

Keywords:

• Behavioral science
• heuristics
• intellectual property protection
• piracy
• policies

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Notes

1 http://cipam.gov.in/index.php/news-updates/anti-piracy-campaign/

2 Anecdotally, a colleague pointed out that some people pirate and share through streaming major sport events, arguing that they do it to allow poor people to enjoy the show.

3 Another argument is related to the effect of numbers and metrics (e.g., revenue and job loss due to piracy), especially when they are related to sanctions (e.g., fine amount) that inadvertently activate a calculative mindset rather than an ethical one (Tenbrunsel and Messick 1999; Wang, Zhong, and Murnighan 2014).

4 Likewise, numerous anti-piracy ads feature the amount of money lost by corporations, the number of downloads, or the money earned by the criminals. The unethical behavior of individuals tends to get aggravated when they learn that others do worse than themselves (see Anand, Ashforth and Joshi 2004 and also Schultz et al. 2007).