Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Ring Of Gyges 2.0: How Anonymity Providing Behaviors Affect Willingness To Participate In Online Deviance, Cassandra E. Dodge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anonymity has long been discussed as a source of disinhibition. The myth of the Ring of Gyges illustrates how a person may act immorally solely because they know they will not be caught (Plato, 375/2017). Incorporating perspectives of rational choice and deterrence, anonymity serves as a form of risk reduction within hedonistic calculus (Beccaria, 1764/1963; Bentham, 1781/2000). Analogous to the myth of the Ring of Gyges (Plato, 375/2017), techniques of anonymity “hide” users from others while online. These techniques serve as a form of risk reduction, reducing the certainty of punishment (Becarria 1764/1963). Additionally, there are many ways by which …

Morality And Offender Decision-Making: Testing The Empirical Relationship And Examining Methodological Implications, Jacquelyn Burckley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rational Choice (RC) theory has become one of the most influential theories in criminology and social science with a wide body of empirical support indicating that offending is associated with anticipated costs and benefits. Although RC theory has been widely researched and supported, one area that is largely underemphasized in this theory’s discourse is morality. The present study draws on a sample of undergraduate students from a large southeastern university using a drinking and driving scenario to extend the RC literature theoretically and methodologically.

The theoretical results indicate that, consistent with prior literature, morality, certainty, and severity were directly, inversely …