A Study of Influential Factors on Student's Participant in Cheating Behavior

Necessity of recognition of the influential factors and prevention ways of the extending of cheating has attracted dramatic growth in the amount of scientific researches concerning student's perceptions of expected costs and incentives of cheating. Moreover investigation of rates of three dimensions of exams cheating, paper cheating, home work cheating, the main object of present research by rational choice theory is study of significant factors related to students rational decisions on participant in cheating behaviors. The present study research method, with stratified random sampling, was survey and data collections instrument was self-administered questionnaire, which employed among 408 persons, that consisted of the male and female students of the eight faculty of Urumieh University. Research instrument also, is questionnaire which made by researchers, that measured rates and rational choice theory influential variables on participant in cheating behaviors. Descriptive finding shows amount of both of three dimensions of the cheating and also sum of cheating behaviors among student was low. In addition, exams cheating were prevalent form of cheating among students. Also, analytical finding shows, that among three variables of rational choice theory, whereas both of benefits and deviant opportunity of cheating has a positive and significant relation with cheating, relation between students’ moral beliefs with depend variable were negative and significant. Increasing of utilities of participant in cheating and lack of preventive policies has been causes of cheating behaviors increasing among academic students. However, it seen that extending and concreting of scientific morals in universities spheres, moreover of decreasing of individual motivation and enhancing moral beliefs in micro level, could be useful in concerting of universities macro and structural policies for prevent of extending of cheating behaviors.