University of Twente Student Theses
Wat zeggen we over onszelf en onze vergelijkbare anderen? Een onderzoek naar de invloed van (in)directe bevraging en zelf-affirmatie op de zelfrapportage van criminaliteit.
Karemaker, S. (2014) Wat zeggen we over onszelf en onze vergelijkbare anderen? Een onderzoek naar de invloed van (in)directe bevraging en zelf-affirmatie op de zelfrapportage van criminaliteit.
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| Abstract: | For most adolescents internet is a network they cannot imagine living without. The use of internet can however also be part of illegal and punishable activities which adolescents may face: cybercrime. The current research focuses on if the way adolescents ranging from 12 to 18 years are being questioned can influence the extent to which they will report committing cybercrime. It is investigated to what extent the type of questioning and self-affirmation can influence the self report of cybercrime. In this investigation adolescents ranging from 12 to 18 years old (N=254) are being questioned about five different types of crime: threat, intrusion into a computerised network, DOS-attack, disabling, modifying or affecting data and the use of malware like viruses. All participants receive both direct questions as well as indirect questions whereby the sequence of these types of questions are different. Half of the participants are classified into a positive affirmation condition and half of the participants are classified into a negative affirmation condition. Then, the number of offences that one admits to have committed (direct questions) and the number of offences they think classmates have committed (indirect questions) are measured. This study shows that the design of self reports can influence the results. Thus, with the use of indirect questions, greater numbers of cybercrime are reported than with the use of direct questions. It also shows that the sequence of questions is of interest; greater numbers of cybercrime are being reported on indirect questions if the participants received direct questions at first. Furthermore it shows that participants indicate that they were answering the questions most honest if they answered indirect questions first and subsequently direct questions. This sequence of question types seems to provide the most truthful results. This study shows no significant effect of self-affirmation on the self report of cybercrime. The latter may indicate that in self reports on sensitive subjects social desirability may continue to play a role and that it is difficult to eliminate this desirability by manipulations as self-affirmation or the type of questioning. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/65720 |
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