4 student mindsets that rationalize cheating

Understanding how students justify cheating can help faculty address the root causes. This article covers common student mindsets that rationalize cheating and offers practical ways to address them before they grow into a cheating culture.

4 student mindsets that rationalize cheating

1. Some college students don’t believe that using chatbots is cheating

Chatbots can be supplemental learning tools, but a survey¹ of 337 college students found that over a third used them to look up information and find answers during exams. Even worse, many didn’t consider it cheating.

There’s some gray area when it comes to using AI, but most agree that copying text from a chatbot is cheating, right? But what if a student writes the essay themselves and only uses a chatbot to rephrase a few sentences or check grammar and punctuation, similar to how they’d use Grammarly or AI editing features in Word or Google Docs?

How to help:

Be clear about acceptable AI use: Don’t want students using chatbots at all? Say that. Can they use them as long as they cite them? Tell them—even better, show them how. Regardless of your stance, be explicit and objective about AI use and discuss real scenarios with students to help clear up any questions.
Proctor written assignments and exams: Whether it’s a long-form essay or a series of short-answer responses, written assignments can be proctored just like an exam.

Students use a word processor during the proctoring writing assignment, but unless the instructor permits it, they won’t be able to:

Visit unauthorized websites or tools
Use cell phones or other secondary devices
Refer to their notes or books
Paste text they copied beforehand
Ask voice assistants for help (e.g., Siri and Alexa)

2. “Instructors don’t seem to care if students cheat.”

Just as students cheat for many reasons, faculty have their own reasons for not reporting it:^2,3

The reporting process is too time-consuming
They rarely have enough conclusive evidence
It’s stressful for them and the student
They don’t believe the institution will do anything about it

If students believe faculty won’t address cheating or don’t care enough to address it, it can create a culture that normalizes cheating and even sees it as acceptable behavior.⁴ And each time students get away with academic misconduct or see others get away with it, they see it as a less serious offense.⁵

How to help:

Address cheating every single time: Talking to students about suspected cheating can be stressful and awkward for both of you, but addressing each instance sends a clear message that cheating isn’t tolerated and reduces cheating in the future.⁶

But how do you prepare for these conversations? What do you say? How do you keep things constructive and avoid conflict? Use this guide’s templated emails, talk tracks, and other strategies to help you talk to your students about cheating.

Gather conclusive evidence: Use a hybrid online proctoring solution to collect objective evidence like video, audio, and other behavioral information that can support academic misconduct cases.
Train faculty on academic dishonesty: Create a shared definition and understanding of academic dishonesty, integrity policies, and reporting processes at your institution.
Simplify reporting processes: Evaluate the full reporting process, ask faculty/staff for their feedback to improve, and consider adding tools like electronic forms or scheduling software, which can make it more efficient.

3. Students know certain behaviors are wrong, but technically not considered cheating

Students usually know that some behaviors are unethical, even if they don’t technically break the rules.⁷ While students and faculty generally agree on what behaviors are considered cheating, their opinions don’t always align. For example, both agree that copying their classmates’ answers during an exam is cheating, but students don’t always consider group work on online exams as cheating, which faculty obviously do.

How to help:

Objective rules for exams and assignments: Writing objective rules reduces confusion and can help support faculty in academic misconduct cases. But writing rules that are comprehensive, yet clear and concise, is difficult. Sometimes, rules that seem objective leave wiggle room for students to take advantage of.
Clearly define cheating: Reviewing detailed definitions of cheating and realistic example scenarios reduces cheating by helping students recognize behaviors they may not realize even count as cheating, such as instances of plagiarism.⁸
Discuss integrity policies: Discussing integrity policies isn’t enough on its own, but it can still help deter cheating in some cases and should be part of a larger strategy.⁹

4. “I’ll be able to do it at work.”

A survey¹⁰ found that students justify dishonest behavior because it’s similar to what they’ll be able to do at work. And it’s true. They’ll be able to search the internet, collaborate with their peers, and ask chatbots for help (assuming the company’s security team gives the thumbs up).

How to help:

Explain the value of learning the skills behind the tools: Discuss realistic consequences of overreliance on tools like chatbots and software. For example, what would an accountant do if the software they use at work, like Quickbooks or Xero, went down before a client deadline? Showing students the practical importance of mastering what they’re learning and how the material connects to their future careers can significantly reduce cheating.^7,11

Students cheat for many reasons besides wanting better grades or because they won’t get caught. And the reasons we think they won’t, such as personality or morals, don’t always matter when it’s crunch time. Creating a culture of academic integrity takes ongoing effort, the right strategies and technology, and collaboration between students, faculty, and institutional leadership.

References

¹ Gruenhagen, J. H., Sinclair, P. M., Carroll, J.-A., Baker, P. R., Wilson, A., & Demant, D. (2024). The rapid rise of generative AI and its implications for academic integrity: Students’ perceptions and use of chatbots for assistance with assessments. Computers and Education. Artificial Intelligence, 7, 100273-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100273

² MacLeod, P. D., & Eaton, S. E. (2020). The paradox of faculty attitudes toward student violations of academic integrity. Journal of Academic Ethics, 18(4), 347–362. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-020-09363-4

³ Staats, S., Hupp, J. M., Wallace, H., & Gresley, J. (2009). Heroes don’t cheat: An examination of academic dishonesty and students’ views on why professors don’t report cheating. Ethics & Behavior, 19(3), 171–183. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508420802623716

⁴ Tolman, S. (2017). Academic dishonesty in online courses: Considerations for graduate preparatory programs in higher education. College Student Journal, 51(4), 579–584. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1162422

⁵ Shu, L. L., Gino, F., & Bazerman, M. H. (2011). Dishonest deed, clear conscience: When cheating leads to moral disengagement and motivated forgetting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(3), 330–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211398138

⁶ Tatum, H., & Schwartz, B. M. (2017). Honor codes: Evidence based strategies for improving academic integrity. Theory into Practice, 56(2), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1308175

⁷ Carpenter, D. D., Harding, T. S., & Finelli, C. J. (2010). Using research to identify academic dishonesty deterrents among engineering undergraduates. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/86094

⁸ Burrus, R. T., McGoldrick, K., & Schuhmann, P. W. (2007). Self-reports of student cheating: Does a definition of cheating matter? The Journal of Economic Education, 38(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.3200/jece.38.1.3-17

⁹ Malesky, A., Grist, C., Poovey, K., & Dennis, N. (2022). The effects of peer influence, honor codes, and personality traits on cheating behavior in a university setting. Ethics & Behavior, 32(1), 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2020.1869006

¹⁰ Cole, M. T., Swartz, L. B., & Shelley, D. J. (2014). Students’ use of technology in learning course material: is it cheating? International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education, 10(1), 35–48. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijicte.2014010104

¹¹ Anderman, E. M., & Won, S. (2018). Academic cheating in disliked classes. Ethics & Behavior, 29(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2017.1373648