Literature Review #1

Cheating in Academic Institutions: A Decade of Research

Donald Mccabe

MLA Citation: 

McCabe, D. L., Trevino, L., & Butterfield, K. D. (2001). Cheating in Academic Institutions: A Decade of Research. Ethics & Behavior, 11(3), 219-232.

Summary:

The Article presents a decade's worth of information on Academic cheating in Universities. It suggests that cheating is become more prevalent in today's culture. With this suggestion, it offers an explanation up to be because colleges are becoming increasingly competitive and the peer outlook is very laissez-faire towards cheating. Students who see other cheat don't really mind, and if they do, they see it as a competitive edge which gives them a reason to cheat themselves to level the playing field. The research in the article also shows how Honor codes at colleges affect a student's decision to cheat or not. What they found in their research is that it isn't necessarily the honor code itself, but more or less the general outlook towards cheating on campus and how the professors make sure to remind the students of integrity and consequences for cheating. The article then goes on to analyze the individual characteristics on cheating and how they affect each student differently. Lastly, they go over the many different approaches as to how institutions can prevent this type of behavior from happening.

About the Author:

Donald Mccabe is from Rutgers University and has his Ph.D. He has published multiple books on academic integrity and the steps to take against it. His expertise is in Academic integrity, Honor Codes, and Student Moral Development.  He has lectured around the world on the topic of student integrity, in many cases acting as a consultant to schools who wish to change their existing policies.

Key Terms:

Academic Dishonesty: The act of collaborating, plagiarizing, stealing, copying, or using some one else's work to aid in the completion of your own.

Window Dressing: When a school uses an honor code but doesnt really implement the code or remind the students of the consequences of cheating.

Quotations:

"the strong influence of peers’ behavior may suggest that academic dishonesty not only is learned from observing the behavior of peers, but that peers’ behavior provides a kind of normative support for cheating. The fact that others are cheating may also suggest that, in such a climate, the non-cheater feels left at a disadvantage. Thus cheating may come to be viewed as an acceptable way of getting and staying ahead." (page 4)

"With increasing competition for the most desired positions in the job market and for the few coveted places available at the nation’s leading business, law, and medical schools, today’s undergraduates experience considerable pressure to do well. Research shows that all too often these pressures lead to decisions to engage in various forms of academic dishonesty" (Page 2)

"Students who might otherwise complete their work honestly observe this phenomenon and convince themselves they cannot afford to be disadvantaged by students who cheat and go unreported or unpunished. Although many find it distasteful, they too begin cheating to “level the playing field.” (Page 2)

Value:

This article has opened up my topic in an interesting way. It has shown my how much students cheat and their motivations to do so. It has also showed my the individual characteristics around the students and how universities are responding to the rising amount of students doing it. This article helps show how and why students cheat which is very helpful.