Dr Marco Rüth and Professor Dr Dr Kai Kaspar from the University of Cologne’s Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Human Sciences provide an answer.
We have to assume that individual students will try to gain an unfair advantage in an examination. Such cheating attempts present a big challenge for lecturers. This applies in particular to the still relatively new format of online exams, where students cannot be supervised face-to-face.
Universities are currently working on ways to thwart cheating in online exams by putting organizational and technical measures into place. But what motivates students to cheat? And what can we do beyond electronic monitoring to positively influence student behaviour so that cheating in online exams becomes less likely?
The reasons for attempts to deceive are complex and we should try to understand them better. As part of our media psychology research, we used several methodological approaches to investigate how students’ individual needs, perceptions and motivations are related to their cheating behaviour in online exams. The results of the study are based on an anonymous online survey which 339 students at different universities in Germany took part in. The results suggest that too little attention is paid to psychological aspects and underlying problems relating to students’ learning behaviour and well-being.
The study revealed that it is less likely for students to cheat when lecturers demonstrate why the material is necessary in their future professional practice instead of solely pointing out the value of good grades for their future careers. Cheating behaviour is also less likely when the exam problems are presented as authentically as possible and are linked to future job requirements. In addition, cheating attempts become less likely when lecturers offer the students detailed feedback on the exam requirement instead of only giving grades.
Furthermore, the more negative students’ perception of online exams was, e.g. that online exams impair learning, the more intense was their reported cheating behaviour in past online exams. More cheating and cheating attempts also occurred when more students were under the impression that online exams stimulated collaboration and mutual support among students. Conversely, less cheating and cheating attempts occurred when students were of the strong opinion that online exams can contribute to improving their studies.
The three main reasons cited for cheating behaviour were the significance of grades, the perception that exams were unfair and the perception that there is a marginal risk of being caught. Among the most common reasons against cheating were moral norms and values such as honesty as well as the fear of being caught and subsequent consequences like being expelled.
Overall, the results of the study show that psychological factors such as individual needs, conceptions and reasons play an important role in cheating behaviour in online exams. A stronger consideration of these factors when designing courses and exam formats can reduce cheating behaviour and, in the long term, positively influence students’ study behaviour and their well-being.