Abstract
A review was conducted of the results of 107studies of the prevalence and correlates of cheatingamong college students published between 1970 and 1996.The studies found cheating to be more common in the 1969-75 and 1986-96 time periods thanbetween 1976 and 1985. Among the strongest correlates ofcheating were having moderate expectations of success,having cheated in the past, studying under poor conditions, holding positive attitudes towardcheating, perceiving that social norms support cheating,and anticipating a large reward for success. However, animportant limitation on the conclusions drawn from this research is that many variables wereincluded in only one or a few studies. A model of theantecedents of cheating is proposed and the implicationsof this model for the identification of students at risk for cheating and controlling cheatingare discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
APPENDIX: STUDIES INCLUDED IN THE LITERATURE REVIEW
REFERENCES
Ahmed, S. M. S. (1979). Visibility of the victim. Journal of Social Psychology107(2): 253-255.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes50(2): 179-211.
Alschuler, A. S., and Blimling, G. S. (1995). Curbing epidemic cheating through systemic change. College Teaching43(4): 123-125.
Asendorpf, J. B., and Nunner-Winkler, G. (1992). Children's moral motive strength and temperamental inhibition reduce their immoral behavior in real moral conflicts. Child Development63(5): 1223-1235.
Beck, L., and Ajzen, I. (1991). Predicting dishonest actions using the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Research in Personality25(3): 285-301.
Brickman, W. W. (1961). Ethics, examinations, and education. School and Society89(December): 412-415.
Brownell, H. C. (1928). Mental test traits of college cribbers. School and Society27(June 23): 764.
Bushway, A., and Nash, W. R. (1977). School cheating behavior. Review of Educational Research47(4): 623-632.
Casey, W. M., and Burton, R. V. (1982). Training children to be consistently honest through verbal self-instructions. Child Development53(4): 911-939.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cole, S. (ed.) (1995). Four Committee Papers from the October 1994 Conference on Academic Integrity. Stanford, CA: Center for Academic Integrity, Stanford University.
Collison, M. (1990, January 17). Apparent rise in students' cheating has college officials worried. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A33.
Davis, S. F., Grover, C. A., Becker, A. H., and McGregor, L. N. (1992). Academic dishonesty: Prevalence, determinants, techniques, and punishments. Teaching of Psychology19(1): 16-20.
Diekhoff, G. M., LaBeff, E. E., Clark, R. E., Williams, L. E., Francis, B., and Haines, V. J. (1996). College cheating: Ten years later. Research in Higher Education37(4): 487-502.
Eisenberger, R. (1992). Learned industriousness. Psychological Review99(4): 248-267.
Eison, J. A., Pollio, H. R., and Milton, O. (1986). Educational and personal characteristics of four different types of learning-and grade-oriented students. Contemporary Educational Psychology11(1): 54-67.
Fass, R. A. (1990). Cheating and plagiarism. In W. M. May (ed.), Ethics and Higher Education(pp. 170-183). New York: Macmillan
Ferrari, J. R., Johnson, J. L., and McCown, W. G. (eds.) (1995). Procrastination and Task Avoidance: Theory, Research, and Treatment. New York: Plenum.
Friedman, M., and Rosenman, R. H. (1977). The key cause: Type A behavior pattern. In A. Monat and R. H. Lazrus (eds.), Stress and Coping(pp. 203-212). New York: Columbia University Press.
Furnham, A. (1990). The Protestant Work Ethic: The Psychology of Work-Related Beliefs and Behaviours. London: Routledge.
Greenberg, J. (1993). Stealing in the name of justice: Informational and interpersonal moderators of theft reactions to underpayment inequity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes54(1): 81-103.
Gronlund, N. E. (1993). How to Make Achievement Tests and Assessments, 5th ed. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Haines, V. J., Diekhoff, G. M., LaBeff, E. E., and Clark, R. E. (1986). College cheating: Immaturity, lack of commitment, and the neutralizing attitude. Research in Higher Education25(4): 342-354.
Hattie, J., Biggs, J., and Purdie, N. (1996). Effects of learning skills interventions on student learning: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research66(2): 99-136.
Hedges, L. V. (1994). Fixed effect models. In H. Cooper and L. V. Hedges (eds.), Handbook of Research Synthesis(pp. 285-299). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Houser, B. B. (1982). Student cheating and attitude: A function of classroom control technique. Contemporary Educational Psychology7(2): 113-123.
Houston, J. P. (1976). Amount and loci of classroom answer copying, spaced seating, and alternate test forms. Journal of Educational Psychology68(6): 729-735.
Houston, J. P. (1977). Cheating behavior, anticipated success-failure, confidence, and test importance. Journal of Educational Psychology69(1): 55-60.
Houston, J. P. (1978). Curvilinear relationships among anticipated success, cheating behavior, temptation to cheat, and perceived instrumentality of cheating. Journal of Educational Psychology70(5): 758-762.
Houston, J. P. (1983). Alternate test forms as a means of reducing multiple choice answer copying in the classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology75(4): 572-575.
Jacobson, L. I, Berger, S. E., and Millham, J. (1970). Individual differences in cheating during a temptation period when confronting failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology15(1): 48-56.
Johnson, B. T. (1989). DTSAT. Software for the Meta-analytic Review of Research Literatures. Hillsdale, NJ. Erlbaum.
Kohlberg, L. (1981). Essays on Moral Development. Vol. 1: The Philosophy of Moral Development. Cambridge, MA: Harper and Row.
LaBeff, E. E., Clark, R. E., Haines, V. J., and Dieckhoff, G. M. (1990). Situational ethics and college student cheating. Sociological Inquiry60(2): 190-198.
Lefcourt, H. M. (1991). Locus of control. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, and L. S. Wrightsman (eds.), Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes(pp. 413-500). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Lipsey, M. W. (1994). Identifying potentially interesting variables and analysis opportunities. In H. Cooper and L. V. Hedges (eds.), Handbook of Research Synthesis(pp. 111-123). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Maramark, S., and Maline. M. B. (1993). Academic Dishonesty Among College Students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 360 903).
McCabe. D. L. (1992). The influence of situational ethics on cheating among college students. Sociological Inquiry62(3): 365-374.
McCabe, D. L., and Bowers, W. J. (1994). Academic dishonesty among males in college: A thirty year perspective. Journal of College Student Development35(1): 5-10.
McCabe, D. L., and Trevino, L. K. (1993). Academic dishonesty: Honor codes and other contextual influences. Journal of Higher Education64(5): 522-538.
McCollum, K. (1996, August 2). Web site where students share term papers has professors worried about plagiarism. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A28.
McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Teaching Tips: A Guidebook for the Beginning College Teacher, 9th ed. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
Moffatt, M. (1990). Undergraduate cheating. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 334 921).
Moore, M. (1990). Cheating 101. New Brunswick, NJ: Author.
Murphy, L. L., Conoley, J. C., and Impara, J. C. (Eds.) (1994). Tests in Print IV. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Peyser, M. (1992, January 6). A cheater's guide to high marks (and big $). Newsweek, p. 45.
Rost, D. H., and Wild, K. P. (1994). Cheating and achievem ent-avoidance at school: Components and assessment. British Journal of Educational Psychology64(1): 119-132.
Roth, N. L., and McCabe, D. L. (1995). Communication strategies for addressing academic dishonesty. Journal of College Student Development36(6): 531-541.
Ruback, R. B., and Innes, C. A. (1988). The relevance and irrelevance of psychological research: The example of prison crowding. American Psychologist43(9): 683-693.
Schab, F. (1991). Schooling without learning: Thirty years of cheating in high school. Adolescence26(104): 839-847.
Seeman, M. (1991). Alienation and anomie. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, and L. S. Wrightsman (eds.), Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes(pp. 291-372). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Shadish, W. R. (1996). Meta-analysis and the exploration of causal mediating processes: A primer of examples, methods, and issues. Psychological Methods1(1): 47-65.
Spielberger, C. D., and Vagg, P. R. (Eds.) (1995). Test Anxiety: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment. Washington, DC: Taylor and Francis.
Wicklund, R. A. (1979). The influence of self-awareness on human behavior. American Scientist67(2): 187-193.
Wilhoit, S. (1994). Helping students avoid plagiarism. College Teaching42(4): 161-164.
Zimny, S. T., Kaspar, M., and Heckman, K. (1995, April). Contexts of dishonest behavior in a college sample. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston.
Zimny, S. T., Redhead, T., and Heckman, K. (1996, March). Predictors of dishonest behaviors across domains. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Whitley, B.E. FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CHEATING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: A Review. Research in Higher Education 39, 235–274 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018724900565
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018724900565