Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant, unforeseen changes in classroom instructions, including the evaluation of students. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate college students' cheating both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of (a) preponderance of cheating, (b) the factors that may have led to an…

This study examined the effect of information source on students' estimates of academic dishonesty. Undergraduates read an estimate of the incidence of academic dishonesty. Half of the participants were told that the source was a professor's study and the other half heard that the source was a student's study. Participants then estimated the…

Montepare suggested the use of a self-correcting approach to multiple-choice tests: Students first take the exam as usual, but are allowed to hand in a self-corrected version afterwards. The idea of this approach is that the additional interaction with the material may foster further learning. To examine whether such an approach actually improves…

Stephen F. Davis is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Emporia State University. He served as the 2002-2003 Knapp Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego. Currently, he is Distinguished Guest Professor at Morningside College and Visiting Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Texas Wesleyan University. Since…

Psychology students completed a task with reinforcement for successful performance. We tested academic integrity under randomly assigned conditions of check mark acknowledgment of an honor pledge, typed honor pledge, or no pledge. Across all conditions, 14.1% of students inflated their self-reported performance (i.e., cheated). We found no…

This study evaluated how effective an online academic integrity module was at reducing the occurrence of plagiarism in a written assignment for a university course. In a preintervention comparison group, plagiarism was detected in 25.8% of papers submitted, compared with only 6.5% in the group that completed the academic integrity module. The…

To understand undergraduate perceptions of academic dishonesty and honor codes, our participants estimated the likelihood that they, their friends, and the average college student would plagiarize or cheat on tests. Undergraduates reported that the average college student was most likely to cheat, their friends would be less likely to cheat, and…

To deter cheating, teachers commonly use exams printed on differently colored paper or with varied question orders. Previous studies, however, reported that paper color and question order affect exam performance and suggested that teachers should adjust students' scores accordingly and discontinue the use of alternate exam forms. We conducted 2…

Describes a study investigating the usefulness of crib notes in taking exams in undergraduate courses. Results showed little apparent benefit to the student except in remembering lists and definitions. (CK)

Low-level content and cheating are two problems that are serious threats to the personalized system of instruction (PSI). The use of behavioral objectives can reduce book-boundness and consequently raise the level of course content. To prevent cheating in PSI courses, rigorous checks on proctor grading must be built into courses. (RM)

Describes a statistical procedure that detects cheating by comparing answers for pairs of students using those items on which both made errors. If the number of identical wrong answers is greater than the number expected by chance, cheating is likely. Suggests using procedure to discourage cheating. (KO)

A technique used in an undergraduate psychology class to reduce student incentives to fake data as they undertook a research project concerning marriage relationships is described. An evaluation of the technique suggested that it works. (RM)

Reports the results of two experiments which evaluated the effectiveness of the cloze test as a method for detecting plagiarism. In both studies, the cloze performance of students was significantly better in nonplagiarizing than plagiarizing situations. Concludes that when used with caution, the cloze procedure appears to be potentially helpful in…

Discusses results of a questionnaire asking students' opinions and experiences concerning academic cheating. Examines the prevalence, situational and dispositional determinants, and techniques of cheating. Concludes that pressures for good grades, student stress, ineffective deterrents, condoning teachers, and an increasing lack of academic…

Maintains that cheating is a major concern on college campuses. Presents data from 2,153 upper-division undergraduate students on the frequency of cheating, reasons for cheating, and influence of penalties on cheating. Offers a model that develops an internalized code of ethics to counteract academic dishonesty. (CFR)