Abstract
This study uses students' evaluations of a hypothetical situation to assess their beliefs about other students' decisions to cheat on an exam. Participants read a vignette describing an examination in which the protagonist has the opportunity to cheat. The description of the vignette's protagonist was manipulated with respect to his perceived competence in the course and the source (intrinsic or extrinsic) of his motivation. In addition, students rated their own likelihood of cheating in the hypothetical situation. Their self-reported motivation and actual cheating behavior were assessed as well. Vignette results indicate main effects for both competence and motivation, with high competence and intrinsic motivation leading to lower expected rates of cheating. A three-way interaction among the participants' gender, motivation and competence is also evident. As these results are consistent with available theory, support is provided for both the theory and the experimental method.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Anderman, E. M., Griesinger, T., and Westerfield, G. (1998). Motivation and cheating during early adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology 90(1): 84–93.
Anderman, E. M., and Midgley, C. (1997). Changes in achievement goal orientations, perceived academic competence, and grades across the transition to middle-level schools. Contemporary Educational Psychology 22: 269–298.
Bunn, D. N., Caudill, S. B., and Gropper, D. M. (1992 Summer). Crime in the classroom: An economic analysis of undergraduate student cheating behavior. Research in Economic Education 26: 197–207.
Crown, D. F., and Spiller, M. S. (1998). Learning from the literature on collegiate cheating: A review of empirical research. Journal of Business Ethics 17: 683–700.
Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist 41(10): 1040–1048.
Dweck, C. S., and Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review 95(2): 256–273.
Eison, J. A. (1981). A new instrument for assessing students' orientations towards grades and learning. Psychological Reports 48: 919–924.
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 Psychology 11: 54–67.
Elliott, E. S., and Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54(1): 5–12.
Forsyth, D. R., Pope, W. R., and McMillan, J. H. (1985). Students' reactions after cheating: An attributional analysis. Contemporary Educational Psychology 10: 72–82.
Hastie, R., and Dawes, R. M. (2001). Rational Choice in an Uncertain World: The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Houston, J. P. (1977). Cheating behavior, anticipated success-failure, confidence and test importance. Journal of Educational Psychology 69: 55–60.
Houston, J. P. (1983). College classroom cheating, threat, sex and prior performance. College Student Journal 17: 196–204.
Jordan, A. (2001). College student cheating: The role of motivation, perceived norms, attitudes, and knowledge of institutional policy. Ethics and Behavior 11: 233–247.
Jordan, A. (2003). Implications of academic dishonesty for teaching in psychology. Teaching of Psychology 30: 216–219.
May, K. M., and Loyd, B. H. (1993). Academic dishonesty: The honor system and students' attitudes. Journal of College Student Development 34: 125–129.
McCabe, D. L., Trevino, L. K., and Butterfield, K. D. (1999). Academic integrity in honor code and non-honor code environments: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Higher Education 70(2): 211–213.
Messick, D. M., and Tenbrunsel, A. E.. (eds.) (1997). Codes of Conduct: Behavioral Research into Business Ethics. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Newstead, S. E., Franklyn-Stokes, A., and Armstead, P. (1996). Individual differences in student cheating. Journal of Educational Psychology 88 (2): 229–241.
Rettinger, D. A., and Jordan, A. (2004). The separate effects of religion and grade motivation: A natural experiment. Under review.
Tang, S., and Zuo, J. (1997). Profile of college examination cheaters. College Student Journal 31(3): 340–346.
Ward, D. A. (1986). Self-esteem and dishonest behavior revisited. Journal of Social Psychology 126(6): 709–713.
Ward, D. A., and Beck, W. L. (1990). Gender and dishonesty. Journal of Social Psychology 130(3): 333–339.
Whitley, B. E. (1998). Factors associated with cheating among college students: A review. Research in Higher Education 39(3): 235–274.
Whitley, B. E., Bichlmeier, A. J., and Jones, C. J. (1999). Gender differences in cheating attitudes and behavior: A meta-analysis. Paper presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago.
Whitley, B. E., and Kost, C. R. (1999). College students' perceptions of peers who cheat. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 29(8): 1732–1760.
Wryobeck, J. M., and Whitley, B. E. (1999). Educational value orientation and peer perceptions of cheaters. Ethics & Behavior 9(3): 231–242.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rettinger, D.A., Jordan, A.E. & Peschiera, F. Evaluating the Motivation of Other Students to Cheat: A Vignette Experiment. Research in Higher Education 45, 873–890 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-5952-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-5952-0