Why Some Students Do Not Cheat On Tests

When it comes to nature versus nurture, I’ve always been a stout defender of the “nurture” side of the equation. 

For example, I don’t think anyone who knew me growing up would say that it was natural for me to “put myself in the shoes of another person.” 

But years ago, I decided this was a skill I needed to develop.

I’m thinking about this skill because I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about students caught cheating on the American Mathematics Competitions, our country’s best-known math contest (now in its 74th year).

The article explained how exams — across many grade levels – were somehow posted online days before students were to take the test. 

I can easily put myself in the shoes of those students who decided to cheat. For years, they’ve been trapped in the vortex of what the WSJ calls “the high-pressure college admission race.” Their parents and counselors have repeatedly told them their score on this test will likely decide whether they get into the college of their choice. This test will also determine whether the top-tier students are asked to represent the United States in the International Mathematics Competition. Putting myself into the shoes of these students, I can feel the incredible pressure they are under and why they decided to cheat. 

Yet it’s far more difficult for me to place myself in the shoes of the students who had access to the tests but chose not to cheat. For example, I keep hearing the inner talk of these students: “Everybody else is cheating. Why shouldn’t I?” 

Research shows that fear is one reason some students decide not to cheat. For these students, their inner talk probably goes something like: “I really want to score high on the test, but I just can’t take the chance of getting caught and shaming my family.”  

But fear isn’t the only reason some teens resist the temptation to cheat. Some students decide not to cheat because they have a strong conviction, based on their beliefs and identity, that cheating is simply wrong—always.  Even if there is no chance of getting caught. 

My hunch, however, is that those of us in the field of character development don’t know enough about the sources that nurture a students’ steeled determination to resist the temptation to cheat. Was it their parents reinforcing the virtue of honesty during their tweens? Did a friend get caught cheating and somehow that experience has profoundly affected them? Does a student’s religious faith play a role? Or what about older siblings, teachers, or coaches? Have movies or sports played a role? 

What I do know, from personal experience as well as listening to college students I have mentored, is that there is tremendous power and wisdom to the maxim “strong convictions require strong sources.”

In sum, whether it’s stories, personal narratives, or empirical research, there just isn’t a wealth of data that explains how young people during their teen years form a strongly held conviction that cheating is not who they are (or want to be). At Character.org, we’d like to fill this gap in the research. Would you like to join us?

NOTE: I would love to hear from you on what you think are the primary forces that shape a young person’s conviction to resist the temptation to cheat. Please reach out to me at arthur@character.org.