Attitudes Toward Cheating as a Function of Classroom Dissatisfaction and Peer Norms

Abstract

A Questionnaire, containing thirty-two descriptions of classroom situations based on all possible combinations of five situational variables, was presented to seventy-eight Introductory Psychology undergraduates. S was asked to rate each situation on a Likert-type scale with regard to Justification for cheating, Urge, Copying, Letting Others Copy, and Guilt. Before rating, Ss were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: one group was told that cheating was prevalent on campus, the other that it was rare. Analyses of variance supported the hypotheses that cheating was significantly greater (p > .001) in those classroom situations in which there were a greater number of negative situational variables and in that group which was told cheating was prevalent. The sole unexpected finding was that feelings of Guilt were significantly less (p > .001) in the more negative classroom situations but, as predicted, did not differ for the two norm groups.