Detecting collective cheating culture in academic contexts

Abstract

Collective cheating is a widespread phenomenon in school and academia. A large majority of students report having cheated—individually or collectively—at school. In many settings, collective cheating is part of a culture and reveals a descriptive norm. However, no measure exists, to our knowledge, that captures the presence of a collective cheating culture in a school or academic environment. The present research aimed to develop and validate an instrument that could account for the existence and extent of a collective cheating culture that may constitute a descriptive norm, translating the acceptance of this form of dishonesty. Study 1 was planned to develop the Culture of Collective Cheating Scale (CCCS). Studies 2 and 3 evaluated the validity of the CCCS.