Oszukiwanie podczas sprawdzianów wiedzy a samoocena i tendencja do usprawiedliwiania zachowania u studentów
Cheating on knowledge tests, self-esteem levels and students’ propensity to justify cheating

Summary/Abstract: The research project was conducted in order to preliminarily probe into possible relations between the declared frequency of cheating during knowledge tests, self-esteem levels and the propensity to justify own behaviors. It covered 114 students, was based on Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, the questionnaire developed by the author and tasks deployed for students to assess the behavior of those who cheated and to present the suggested response to be adopted by the lecturer who spotted cheating. Research results have not confirmed that there might be a relation between the self-esteem levels and the propensity to justify cheating. Considering the limited possibility of generalizing the results obtained on the said study sample, it would seem advisable to conduct further, more in-depth studies. However, it may also be possible that the general self-esteem levels do not impact significantly the process of justification and self-justification of dishonest behaviors. At the same time, the study has shown some statistically significant correlations between the frequency of cheating and the justification of such behavior (the more frequent the cheating behavior, the higher the propensity to justify the behavior), the assessment of cheating as harmful (the more frequent the cheating behavior, the less frequent assessment of cheating as harmful), the severity of sanctions suggested for individuals caught cheating, and the assessment of own honesty (the more frequent the cheating behavior, the lower levels of honesty self-assessments).

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