BOULDER — Campus officials trying to curb illegal downloading should try convincing compulsive downloaders that other students don't have equally large stashes of pirated booty, new research suggests.

As the Recording Industry Association of America this month sends out its latest wave of letters — threatening copyright-infringement lawsuits at 58 schools, including the University of Colorado's Colorado Springs campus — research shows there could be a better way to squelch illegal file sharing.

A new study in the journal of Cyberpsychology and Behaviors says many students convince themselves that the practice is OK because everyone else does it, and they think they download less than the typical college student.

"Efforts by the university and the industry to convince college students that downloading is morally wrong apparently have little impact," wrote the study's authors, Robert LaRose of Michigan State University and Junghyun Kim of Kent State University. "On the face of the present results, the most effective strategy might be to convince heavy downloaders that their behavior is out of line with their peers."

The same kind of "social-norms" tactic has been used at CU and colleges across the country in efforts to fight binge drinking. Backers of the theory say it helps to do campus surveys on behaviors, then use that data to dispel students' exaggerated perceptions of how much their peers drink — or, in this case, download.

CU freshman Kyle Poland, who likes rock and alternative music, said he's not worried about being busted by the RIAA because, he said, his stash of downloads is modest compared with others.

"If you download huge amounts, I can see why you'd be worried," he said. "But I don't."

Officials have been using a "Don't be a copycat" campaign to curb illegal downloading on the Boulder campus, said Robert Dixon, information technology director for CU's housing and dining services.

Dixon says it's difficult for services that require users to buy tracks to compete when there are illegal services available. He compares the online music market to a house with the front doors tightly locked but the back doors wide open.

He's not entirely convinced that social-norms and educational campaigns stop students from file sharing.

"Do I think it's effective? I'm not sure," Dixon said.

CU students can lose their Internet access in the dorms if they are caught violating copyright laws.

Illegal downloading at the Boulder campus has become more difficult to detect because of a firewall the school installed last year that prevents outsiders from scanning its networks. In the past year, the RIAA has sent fewer than five letters to CU concerning students' illegal downloading. A few years ago, the university sometimes received that many in a single week.

CU students last year received free subscriptions to Cdigix — a company that provided music subscriptions for colleges across the country. But the company pulled the plug on its entertainment service in the spring, saying it's hard to stay competitive in the online music industry.

This year, Dixon said, students will have free access to Ruckus, a similar service.

Subscribers to Ruckus have access to unlimited "tethered downloads" — geek speak that means the songs can be played from the users' computers but can't be burned to CDs or transferred to portable MP3 players or iPods unless they are purchased.

Jessica Nevin, a CU finance major, said she doesn't download music illegally — but that's not because of moral reservations or legal fears.

"I don't even know how to," she said. "I just buy iTunes because it's easy."