What motivates academic dishonesty in students? A reinforcement sensitivity theory explanation

BACKGROUND: Academic dishonesty (AD) is an increasing challenge for universities worldwide. The rise of the Internet has further increased opportunities for students to cheat. AIMS: In this study, we investigate the role of personality traits defined within Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) as potential determinants of AD. RST defines behaviour as resulting from approach (Reward Interest/reactivity, goal-drive, and Impulsivity) and avoidance (behavioural inhibition and Fight-Flight-Freeze) motivations. We further consider the role of deep, surface, or achieving study motivations in mediating/moderating the relationship between personality and AD. SAMPLE: A sample of UK undergraduates (N = 240). METHOD: All participants completed the RST Personality Questionnaire, a short-form version of the study process questionnaire and a measure of engagement in AD, its perceived prevalence, and seriousness. RESULTS: Results showed that RST traits account for additional variance in AD. Mediation analysis suggested that GDP predicted dishonesty indirectly via a surface study approach while the indirect effect via deep study processes suggested dishonesty was not likely. Likelihood of engagement in AD was positively associated with personality traits reflecting Impulsivity and Fight-Flight-Freeze behaviours. Surface study motivation moderated the Impulsivity effect and achieving motivation the FFFS effect such that cheating was even more likely when high levels of these processes were used. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that motivational personality traits defined within RST can explain variance in the likelihood of engaging in dishonest academic behaviours

Crime without punishment: An update review of the determinants of cheating among university students

The issue of cheating is a serious problem since it can call the efficiency of an education system into question. Furthermore, it is a devaluing factor in the country's stock of human capital. A student who copies is a free-rider, in the sense that he/she gains a higher grade than that merited by the actual amount of effort expended on study. In addition, it makes it impossible for teachers to fully achieve the goal of effective dissemination to, and acquisition of knowledge by, students. This paper conceptually and methodologically systematizes the phenomenon of academic fraud. Distinct forms of theorizing illegal behaviours are examined, adapting Becker’s crime model (1968) to cheating. A systematic review of the literature has allowed certain direct determinants of the probability of “copying”, not yet investigated, to be identified, viz: 1) the ‘advantages’, in terms of a higher grade, that students see themselves as gaining from fraudulent behaviour in comparison with not indulging in it; 2) the breakdown of students’ grades by nature of discipline - “reasoning” versus “cramming”; and 3) the existence or otherwise of a code of honour in universities. As a result, this paper proposes a new, ‘expanded’, econometric specification for estimating cheating (i.e., the probability of “copying”) based on an analysis of the expected cost-benefit, according to Becker’s model.crime, cheating, university, human capital

Correlational Study Exploring the Relationship Between the Teaching of Ethics in Business Schools and the Ethical Behavior of College Students in Those Schools

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to discover how colleges and universities impact the moral development of their undergraduate school of business students through the method by which they teach ethics in their curricula. To address the stated problem of understanding the impact of ethics and its effect on the moral development of students, the research question that drove this study involved discovering if there was a relationship between the ethical decisions undergraduate college business students make (like deciding whether to cheat on exams and/or assignments) and the way ethics content was delivered. In answering the research question, five hypotheses were tested that included: Students who have received instruction in stand-alone ethics courses are less likely to display cheating behavior; a student’s age, year in school and gender will each predict cheating propensity; students that exhibit a deep form of learning will be less likely to make unethical decisions in their college careers; and students that exhibit a strategic or surface form of learning will be more likely to make unethical decisions in their college careers. Two scales were used, one that measured the three forms of learning and one that measured cheating propensity. The methodology involved convenience sampling of the students from the Midwestern school that agreed to participate in the study. The survey was fully completed by 206 participants who met the criteria for this study. The results of this research revealed that there was a significant relationship between how ethics courses were delivered to students and their propensity to cheat. Furthermore, age and year in school were valid predictors of cheating behavior, but gender was not. Lastly, the students learning method was not a significant predictor of cheating behavior

Academic Integrity: A Correlational Study of Private Christian College Students\u27 Religiosity and the Propensity to Cheat

Creating a campus culture of academic integrity is a target aimed for by colleges across the nation. A religiosity level and academic dishonesty survey was administered for a predictive correlational study investigating religiosity levels and the propensity to cheat as they relate to students on the campuses of large, medium, and small private Christian college campuses in the southeastern United States. These factors were further tested to determine if they align with the determinants of behavior identified with the theory of planned behavior and self-efficacy. A volunteer response sample was utilized from the answers received by way of the online survey, and a bivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to predict the relationship between the level of religiosity and the propensity to cheat on Christian college campuses. The use of correlation and bivariate linear regression required that assumption testing for normality, reliability, linearity, and homoscedasticity be met. This predictive correlational study produced rigorous statistical information providing educational institutions insight as they work toward creating campus cultures of integrity

The Relationship Between Ethical Regard and Academic Misconduct Among College Students

A correlational quantitative research project was conducted at a large public research institution in the Southeast to investigate the relationship between ethical regard and academic dishonesty among undergraduate college students. An online survey was completed by 273 undergraduates. Participant engagement in cheating behaviors established a Propensity To Cheat (PTC) score, which was then analyzed in conjunction with student characteristics, ethical self-perception, ethical ideology, and perception of cheating behaviors. Data were analyzed using ANOVAs, independent t tests, correlations, and descriptive statistics. Findings indicate that students aged 22-23 were significantly more likely to cheat than students in other age ranges; Millennials were significantly more likely to cheat than non-Millennials. No significant difference existed between PTC compared by gender or academic classification. When given a response set of 11 behaviors commonly defined as academic misconduct, the majority of students indicated agreement that the identified behavior is a cheating behavior. The behavior most commonly perceived as cheating was copying from a classmate’s exam or permitting copying by a classmate (99.3% agreement). The behavior least likely to be perceived as cheating was seeking exam content from a peer who had taken the exam (55.7% agreement); students cited this cheating behavior as the most commonly committed (46.5%). A correlational analysis was conducted for each of the 11 cheating behaviors; results indicate that in 8 of the 11 behaviors, students were less likely to engage in the specific behavior if they perceived the behavior as cheating. Overall, 77.3% of respondents reported cheating, and 30.8% reported 4 or more cheating behaviors. The study is significant because few researchers have evaluated academic misconduct through the lens of ethical ideology. Therefore, this study contributes to the existing literature related to academic integrity among college students by employing ethical ideology as a conceptual framework to examine cheating behaviors and prevalence. In the analyses students who exhibit absolutist ideologies are significantly less likely to cheat than students with subjectivist ideologies. Furthermore, higher ethical self-perception scores significantly correlate to a lower PTC

The Contemporary Plagiarist: The Roles of Technology and Moral Development

This research examines a chronic problem in academic settings – inappropriate copying or misuse of source materials–i.e., plagiarism. We conduct a computer-based writing experiment to examine the effects of psychological and situational characteristics on subjects’ propensity to misappropriate text. Specifically, we examine to what extent such misappropriations may be explained by available technological support and an individual’s level of cognitive moral development (CMD). We hypothesize that more technological support will be positively associated with misuse while advanced CMD will be negatively associated with misuse. Lastly, we explore the interaction of technology and CMD on our measure of misuse. We find that both CMD and technology play a significant role in explaining such misappropriations. Subjects in the high technological support condition demonstrate a level of misuse that is significantly higher than those in the control condition. While higher levels of CMD are associated with a significant decrease in misuse

The chronology of collective cheating: a qualitative study of collective dishonesty in academic contexts

Collective cheating can have serious consequences in professional and educational settings. Existing data show that collective cheating is common and that individuals cheat more when they are in groups, highlighting the existence of some collective organisation in the endeavour. However, little is known about the emergence of this behaviour and the group processing involved. Drawing on qualitative data from 20 semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis, the present study explored collective cheating in academic contexts. Seven themes emerged that retrace the chronology of collective cheating from its beginning to its impact on the group: reasons, birth and organisation of collective cheating, risk management, concealment strategies, justifications and social impact. Participants emphasised the extrinsic benefits, the interdependence of members and the importance of existing social norms, as well as the positive valence of this kind of dishonesty. In participants' recalls, cheating together means cooperating, showing solidarity, helping and supporting each other

Examining Ethical Decision Making Behavior in e-Learning Systems

E-learning is emerging as a way of using technology to re-create a one-on-one learning environment for numerousparticipants at a time and has become prevalent in the higher education arena. In addition to traditional forms of cheating,many universities currently deal with issues of students in traditional classrooms who engage in technology-facilitatedcheating. The propensity for behaving unethically may be significantly greater in an e-learning system due to the lack ofauthority figures. Research states that when placed in a moral situation, individual behavior can be influenced by factors thatare specific to the individual and factors that vary by situation. The focus of this paper is to understand the complexcombination of individual and situational factors that can affect an individual’s behavioral inclinations and provide deeperinsight into how ethical decision-making behaviors differ in a technology-based environment as compared to an in-personenvironment

Predictors of Examination Integrity among Secondary School Students: Framework for Proactive Actions Against Examination Malpractices

This study focused on determination of predictors of academic integrity during examinations among secondary school students. The population consisted of 300,000 final year secondary school students in South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria out of which a sample of 3000 students (1720 females and 1280 males) were selected through multistage proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Analysis of data collected with the aid of Examination Integrity Questionnaire (EIQ) that was adopted and validated by the researchers showed significant influence of students’ gender on academic integrity during examinations with female students having higher mean score on examination integrity. Moreover, Study Habits, Examination Ethics, Examination Anxiety, Moral Background, Examination Attitude and Past Experience were significant predictors of examination integrity of students. Past experience was the strongest predictor of students’ examination integrity. However, there was no significant impact of Age on students’ examination integrity. These findings have implications for preventive actions against examination malpractices. For instance, proactive actions should be targeted at improving students’ study habits, examination anxiety, moral reasoning, attitude towards cheating or examination ethics and subjective norms before they sit for school examinations. This proactive action framework based on the Modified Theory of Planned Behaviour may be more effective in curbing examination malpractices than the extant practice of administering punitive measures after examination ethics violations