Student Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Academic Dishonesty

This research study investigated the relationship between students’ attitudes toward academic dishonesty and their self-reported cheating behaviors. Additionally, the study investigated the potential differences between gender and the academic variables class level and cumulative GPA and both students’ attitudes toward academic dishonesty and their self-reported cheating behaviors. This quantitative study analyzed secondary data from a Spring 2014 administration of the Academic Integrity Student Survey (AISS) to examine the attitudes and behaviors of undergraduate level students (N = 574) at a large, four-year, public, research intensive institution in West-Central Florida. Results indicated a statistically significant correlation between students’ attitudes toward academic dishonesty and their self-reported cheating behaviors. Although weak, the negative correlation suggested that as students’ attitudes toward academic dishonesty (i.e. the perceived severity of specific behaviors) increased, their self-reported cheating behaviors decreased. Additionally, the results indicated that there were no significant differences in either students’ attitudes or cheating behaviors based on the independent variables of gender or class level. Finally, while not statistically significant, the results suggested a weak positive correlation between students’ attitudes toward academic dishonesty and cumulative GPA and a weak negative correlation between self-reported cheating behaviors and cumulative GPA. Although this study found the relationship between students’ attitudes and cheating behaviors to be statistically significant, the lack of significant results as they relate to the individual factors of gender, class level, and cumulative GPA, indicate that more research is needed into other possible factors, such as moral development and institutional culture, that impact students’ attitudes and behaviors. Finally, further research is needed to determine the potential impact of changes in the landscape of higher education, such as increased access and the increase in non-traditional teaching methods, on academic integrity and students’ moral reasoning and ethical decision-making as they relate to attitudes and behaviors