Moral disengagement and academic cheating: The role of individual difference and situational variables.
Item
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Title
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Moral disengagement and academic cheating: The role of individual difference and situational variables.
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Identifier
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AAI9959170
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identifier
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9959170
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Creator
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Cava, Veronica Elizabeth.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Barry J. Zimmerman
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Date
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2000
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Educational Psychology
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Abstract
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It has been observed in the student cheating literature that although nearly all students report holding beliefs that it is morally unacceptable to engage in cheating, a majority of these same students have engaged in cheating (Davis, Grover, Becker & McGregor, 1992). The present research sought to examine whether Bandura's (1990) notion of moral disengagement would be able to bridge the seeming gap between cheating beliefs and cheating behavior. Moral disengagement is defined as the process by which an individual proactively suspends his/her moral standards in an effort to reduce the self-censure that ordinarily accompanies conduct that violates one's moral code. The reduction of self-censure frees the individual to violate his/her moral code (i.e., cheating.).;The present research hypothesized that individuals who hold strong anti-cheating beliefs would also admit to cheating. Moral Disengagement would mediate the relationship between Cheating Beliefs and Self-reported Cheating. Students who relied more heavily on the use of Moral Disengagement were expected to report less guilt when they engage in cheating. Path analysis of the original research model supported each of these hypotheses.;Supplemental analyses examined eight background variables to determine their influence on students' cheating beliefs and their tendency to morally disengage in potential cheating situations.;Among these eight factors were four individual difference variables (i.e., Religiosity, Self-regulatory Efficacy to Resist Peer Influence to Cheat, Academic Self-efficacy, and Personal Academic Achievement Goals) and four situational variables (i.e., Parental Academic Achievement Goals, Peers' Cheating, Fear of Consequences [of cheating], and Exam Preparedness.).;It was found that students who were more religious were less likely to morally disengage. Students who had high Self-regulatory Efficacy to Resist Peer Influence to Cheat and who believed that their classmates rarely cheated also had strong beliefs that cheating is wrong, were less likely to morally disengage, and were less likely to report engaging in cheating. The belief that the consequences of cheating would be severe was associated with strong Anti-cheating Beliefs and the tendency to refrain from morally disengaging. Finally, students who generally felt less prepared for examinations were more likely to morally disengage.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
