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Goal Orientations and Tendency to Neutralize Academic Cheating: An Ecological Perspective

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Abstract

This study examined the phenomenon of academic cheating while focusing on the unique and interactive effects of sociocultural variables on academic motivation, goal orientation and self-efficacy perception of 221 Muslim and Jewish female students. A mixed quantitative and qualitative research design with Multivariate-Analysis of Covariance, Step-wise Discriminant Function Analysis, Path Analysis and semi-structured interviews have been used to clarify the data obtained in various scales. Path Analysis indicated that the main factor predicting the tendency to neutralize academic cheating was the performance goal of pleasing parents mediated by extrinsic motivation. Further analysis showed between-ethnic-groups differences with Muslim students being more extrinsically motivated by the performance goal of pleasing the parents. Content analysis of the interviews conducted with 22 students showed that, in contrast to the Jewish students’ individualistic perspective, Muslim students' collective perspective put them under tremendous pressure to succeed due to the rippling effect of success on all spheres of life e.g., family’s honor, community standing, and future marriage prospects.

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Notes

  1. Mizrahi nowadays refers to Arab and Sepharadic Jews who immigrated from Muslim countries in Asia and Africa. The Mizrahi living in the periphery of Israel are characterized by low education and low SES.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee, Galilee, Israel

    Dorit Alt

  2. Western Galilee College, Acre, Israel

    Brenda Geiger

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  1. Dorit Alt
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  2. Brenda Geiger
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Correspondence to Dorit Alt.

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Dorit Alt and Brenda Geiger for joint and equal authorship.

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Alt, D., Geiger, B. Goal Orientations and Tendency to Neutralize Academic Cheating: An Ecological Perspective. Psychol Stud 57, 404–416 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-012-0161-y

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