 | | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Why do some college students cheat while others dont?
A new report from Ohio State University finds students who score high on courage, empathy, and honesty are less likely to have cheated or plan to cheat in the future. They also have a more positive view of others and are less likely to believe their fellow students cheat.
Text Continues Below
The study shows students more likely to cheat are those who score lower on courage, empathy, and honesty. They see other students as cheating more often than they do, which rationalizes their own behavior.
Recent research shows more than half sometimes up to 80 percent of college students say they have cheated.
Students who dont cheat seem to be in the minority, and have plenty of opportunities to see their peers cheat and receive the rewards with little risk of punishment, co-author Sara Staats, Ohio State Universitys Newark campus, was quoted as saying. We see avoiding cheating as a form of everyday heroism in an academic setting.
One reason researchers want to study cheating at colleges and universities is to try to figure out ways to reduce it.
When students were asked if they intended to cheat in the future, 47 percent said they did not intend to cheat, but 24 percent agreed or strongly agreed they would cheat. Almost 30 percent said they were uncertain whether or not they would.
Staats says those almost 30 percent are like undecided voters and would be especially good to target for intervention.
SOURCE: American Psychological Association Annual Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, August 14-17, 2008
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
|
.gif)
