Poster #87 - When and Why Does Cheating Happen in College? Analyzing Cases of Academic Misconduct

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

Most youth cheat in high school or college, but they do so in highly specific circumstances (Davis et al., 1992; McCabe & Treviño, 1997). Cheating—a decision that can derail one’s academic career—often reflects the novel and competing challenges that individuals encounter during adolescence and emerging adulthood. During these years, youth have to cope with changing norms for what counts as cheating and integrity, and new social, family, financial, and academic pressures (Arnett, 2000, 2007; Arnett et al., 2014; Eccles et al., 1993). Studies using self-report have suggested that cheating results from both lack of awareness of academic norms and competing pressures (Stephens & Nicholson, 2008; Waltzer & Dahl, 2022). While self-report offers the easiest route to studying academic cheating, the method is fraught with limitations, including social desirability, selection bias, and inaccuracies of memory. A better understanding of when and why cheating happens can help reduce student cheating and advance research on the development of honesty and integrity.

As part of an institutional research project, we analyzed all student files in two colleges at a large public university, and systematically documented any recorded cases of academic misconduct in those files (N=261). The goal of the project was to identify courses, student groups, and circumstances in which students were at particular risk of cheating and additional support is most needed. Trained researchers coded features of the cases, including the type of cheating act, student admission of wrongdoing, and reasons for students’ actions (Table 1).

Out of all student files in the colleges, 4.5% had a cheating case. Fifty-one percent of cases occurred in engineering classes. The most common assignment types were coding assignments (32%), in-class exams (25%), and essays (18%). Sixty-percent involved students taking information without consent from the source (e.g., website, peer).

The most common types of cheating acts were copying most or all of a text (48%), using an illicit source (26%), and engaging in illicit collaboration (15%). When comparing the cases from these files to interview data on students’ self-reported accounts of cheating collected in a prior study (N=191), we found more explicit cheating in the reported case files (e.g., copying most or all of a text, 48% vs. 7% in interviews), while we saw more ambiguous acts in the interviews (e.g., using others’ ideas without citing them, 0% in files vs. 16% in interviews).

Two-thirds of students admitted wrongdoing in their case. One-fifth denied being aware they were cheating at the time. The most common reasons for cheating were disputes about policies (14%), perceptual confusion (23%), acute stress or emotions (34%), and barriers to academic performance such as skills (43%), scheduling (19%), and time (18%) (Figure 1). Student demographics (gender, ethnicity, major, international status, transfer status) were not significant predictors.

Our findings suggest that the reasons behind cheating in emerging adulthood are complex and involve considerations both within and beyond school. By understanding how, when, and why students cheat, institutions can provide better support to students where it is most needed.

Authors

• Fiona C DeBernardi, Cornell University

• Austina T Xu

• Talia Waltzer, University of California - San Diego
  Presenting Author

• Audun Dahl, University of California - Santa Cruz