Profiling Ethical Sensitivity: A Person-Centered Analysis of Student Judgments on Academic Misconduct

• In Event: Humanizing Approaches Toward Ethical and Meaningful Student Processes in Higher Education

Abstract

This study investigates students’ ethical sensitivity toward academic misconduct through
a person-centered moral-psychology lens. Guided by Ethics Position Theory, we applied K-
means clustering to cheating, plagiarism, and falsification judgments (N = 514) and confirmed
the structure via Latent Profile Analysis. A three-profile solution, including Lenient (3.5%),
Moderate (28.4%), and Strict (68.1%) showed excellent fit (lowest BIC and highest entropy
= .94). Multinomial logistic regression indicated that lower relativism and higher self-perceived
competency were associated with membership in the Strict group, while lower competency
significantly increased the odds of belonging to the Moderate group. Findings reveal the latent
structure of ethical sensitivity and emphasize the value of integrating ethical ideology with
person-centered analytics to inform profile-tailored academic integrity interventions.

Authors

• Liu Liu, University of Georgia

• Jin Liu, University of Texas - Arlington

• Andrea Jenkins, University of Texas at Arlington

• Hongwei Yang, University of West Florida