Understanding Academic Dishonesty in University Settings: The Interplay of Dark Triad Traits and Moral Disengagement

Abstract

Understanding the correlates of academic dishonesty is crucial for designing effective preventive interventions, as is the investigation of moderating factors that could affect these interactions. Despite increased interest in the Dark Triad personality traits and their potential link with unethical behavior, there is limited evidence regarding the moderating role of moral disengagement in the relationship. This study aimed to investigate academic dishonesty among Greek university students, its relationship with the Dark Triad, and the moderating role of moral disengagement, using gender as a covariate. Overall, 587 students attending Greek public Universities voluntarily completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire assessing the constructs under investigation. Results showed that male students had higher scores in unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, Dark Triad, and moral disengagement. Moderation analysis indicated that moral disengagement had an effect in the relationship of psychopathy with unauthorized collaboration, especially among men. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the importance of psychopathy and moral disengagement in the prediction of academic dishonesty and have the potential to make a significant contribution to its prevention, particularly in Greek universities where relative initiatives are lacking.

Keywords:

• Academic dishonesty
• university students
• dark triad
• moral disengagement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are not available because the authors did not have the necessary approval by the ethics committee and by participants.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Constantinos M. Kokkinos

Constantinos M. Kokkinos, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Psychology at the Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. His research interests include the study of individual differences (e.g., Big 5) in children’s, youth’s, and emerging adult’s aggressive behavior, well-being, and humor styles. He is also interested in psychological assessment and teachers’ stress and burnout.

Nafsika Antoniadou

Nafsika Antoniadou received a PhD in Educational Psychology from the Department of Primary Education at Democritus University of Thrace. Her research interests focus on the social relationships of children and adolescents and the factors involved in their psychosocial adjustment. Since 2017, she has been working as an adjunct faculty member at Hellenic Open University.