The academic environment's influence on schoolchildren's attitudes about cheating and the value of homework are examined in two studies to be published in the March issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Educational Psychology.

Adolescents who perceive that schools and classroom teachers define achievement primarily in terms of grades and performance are more likely to cheat and believe that cheating is acceptable. The study was conducted with 285 middle school science students and examined the link between cheating in science class and the motivational variables behind such behavior.

Their findings indicate that students who report cheating tend to:

• worry about school
• perceive their school as focused on grades and ability
• believe they can obtain some type of reward for doing well in class
• attribute failure in school to outside circumstances
• avoid using deep-level cognitive processing strategies, such as trying different ways to solve a problem

When students believe they will receive an extrinsic benefit for doing well in class, such as getting out of homework or other assignments, they will be more likely to cheat. Dr. Anderman, lead author of the study, notes that "it is ironic that many students view the reward for doing well in the classroom as being able to get out of additional learning activities." The researchers point out that if the value of the reward is more important to the student than the academic task itself, the student may consider cheating acceptable.

The study found that demographic variables, including gender, were unrelated to cheating. On an individual level, students with a personal extrinsic motivational orientation (for example, doing work only because it is required or only caring about getting the right answer to a problem) were likely to believe that cheating is an acceptable behavior, according to the study. The researchers found that students who ascribed poor performance to a variety of external factors, including blaming others for their failure and making excuses for poor scholastic performance, were likely to report that they cheated and considered their behavior to be acceptable. Conversely, students who reported using deep-level cognitive processing strategies in doing their science work, such as trying different ways to solve a problem or asking themselves questions to make sure they understand their work, were less likely to cheat.

Learning environments that stress competition and grades may cause some students to see cheating as a means of survival, according to the authors. Previous studies have demonstrated that middle-school environments can be changed to de-emphasize the weight placed on performance and ability. The authors suggest that changing the school and classroom environment to focus less on testing, grades, and ability may lead to lower levels of cheating, for students may have less of an incentive to cheat if schools reduce emphasis on competition. "This study has strong implications considering President Clinton's discussion of moving toward the initiation of national testing for schoolchildren," Dr. Anderman says. " An unforeseen negative outcome may be increases in cheating due to this increased emphasis on testing."

5/29/98

Reference: Motivation and Cheating During Early Adolescence by Eric M. Anderman, Ph.D., Tripp Griesinger, M.S., and Gloria Westerfield, M.S. in Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 90, No. 1.

3/18/98

Eric M. Anderman, Ph.D., can be reached at 606-257-7532.