Perceptions of Academic Dishonesty Among Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The current study examined undergraduate students’ perceptions of academic dishonesty in digital and non-digital settings using scenarios. Relevant factors, such as participants’ self-reports of integrity and personality constructs, were explored. Perceptions of the scenarios were analyzed using a 2 (dishonest behavior: cheating/plagiarism) by 2 (setting: digital/non-digital) repeated measures design. While a significant interaction effect between the setting type and dishonest behavior regarding pervasiveness was not found, significant main effects for both setting (digital more common than non-digital) and behavior (cheating more pervasive than plagiarism) were found. A significant interaction effect between the setting type and the dishonesty type was found regarding perceptions of labeling. Additionally, a significant main effect was found for dishonesty type regarding perceptions of the student’s motivations for engaging in the dishonest behavior. Self-reported integrity was found to be a significant predictor regarding perceptions of the dishonest behavior being viewed as an act of academic misconduct.