Why Students Cheat

Abstract

126 sophomore and junior students in a woman's college in which the honor system was in use were given 12 weekly true-false examinations. These were collected and scored, but some were returned apparently unscored, and the scoring was done in class. Comparison of the students' scoring with the scores previously obtained showed that 30 cheated by altering answers during the scoring in class. Of these, none was in the highest quarter on the freshman intelligence test, 9 were in the second quarter, 6 in the third, and 15 in the fourth. Of those who cheated, none was an A student in the course, 4% of B students cheated, 23% of C students, 75% of D students, and 67% of F students. 16% of the non-fraternity and 36% of the fraternity students cheated. Cheating is interpreted as growing out of the competitive system under which college credits are awarded. "The final solution [of the problem of cheating] probably involves the change of student motives as its primary consideration, a result not obtainable without drastic changes in present methods." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)