Why So Many of Us Lie, Cheat, and Steal by Ronald E. Riggio.
I was recently troubled by some students cheating on my college course exams. Once I became aware of the cheating, I took steps to try to stop it, and I was surprised that a couple of students continued to try to cheat even after I had informed the class of the severe penalties for cheating.
With a 30-plus year teaching career, this wasn’t the first time, of course. The worst cheating incident years ago was when fraternity members got together with hand-held copiers to systematically copy a final exam, piece-by-piece, knowing that there was a second final scheduled the next day. Most of the fraternity members planned to take the second final, after they received the stolen exam and had the answers. [When I found out hours after the first exam, I stayed up most of the night making a completely different final exam, and admit that I took some delight in seeing all the puzzled and frightened male faces in the large lecture hall flipping frantically through the pages of a brand new test].
I also read this past week about severe cheating that occurs in on-line college courses – where sophisticated cheaters are able to get As in courses without learning anything at all, simply by figuring out how to beat the testing system. I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised. Research suggests that most of us, if in the right circumstances, would indeed lie, cheat, or steal.
More at PT.