Do Monetary Incentive and Depressive/Anxious Traits Influence Cheating Behaviour?
by Gurjot (Joey) Chhina
Supervisor: Dr. Evan Lopes
Abstract:
Cheating is an ongoing issue that is in countless contexts
in the world of academics. Challenges arise when differentiating what is accidental
versus deliberate for students and faculty alike. This study examined how
monetary incentive can affect cheating behaviour, while also taking into
consideration depressive and anxious traits. These factors were studied in the
context of a difficult trivia test where each question was incentivized in
order to provide participants with a motivation to perform well. We predicted
that receiving answers and the monetary incentive would result in amplified
cheating behaviour across individuals. Further, we hypothesized that those who
have depressive and anxious traits would have greater cheating behaviour than
those without the aforementioned traits. Findings revealed no significance
between cheating behaviour, and depressive and anxious traits. Future studies
could adapt this study’s methods to continue the exploration of the influence
of mental health issues on academic cheating.