The Group Nature of Academic Dishonesty & Diffusion of Responsibility in Online Student Chat Groups

Opportunities for academic dishonesty have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, as courses moved to virtual formats and online chat groups became an essential means of communication. Prior explanations of academic dishonesty tend to overlook the fact that it is often committed in groups, discounting the role that group based mechanisms play in facilitating this form of deviance. The current study integrates group dynamics into an explanation of academic dishonesty in online student chat groups with a specific consideration of assessing group size and the role of diffusion of responsibility. Using hypothetical vignettes administered to a sample of university students, findings suggest that the involvement of others contributes to an individual’s willingness to participate in academic dishonesty;however, the size of the group is not related to the decision to engage and does not diffuse responsibility for participation. In total, the results affirm the importance of considering the group context but raise additional questions regarding why groups serve as an important inducement to engage in academic dishonesty. [ FROM AUTHOR]