Mechanism of CheatingBy Alexander Schultz

The Perfect ScoreIs there a deeper psychological meaning as to why we cheat and what factors lead a person to cheat?

Evolution of WorkI was originally going to create an entirely new test that was separate from the SAT with all of the good features I believed should be in a test.This was a little unrealistic and wouldn’t have produced results that truly mattered.My new experiment measures whether there is an inherent need to cheat or whether the thought of getting a reward drives people to do so.

Initial ResearchI used my senior research paper to guide me on how I could find the mechanism of cheating and what causes people to want to cheat more.

Research ProcessI sought out Ms. Dodd who helped me structure a procedure and accurate experiment to do.That led me to the experiment I ended up administering.

The ProjectMy project is a social experiment that included taking 5 high school volunteers and making them take two separate math tests to see any trends in their scores.I administered two tests for each group, the first was without a reward and the second included an incentive if the students raised their scores.

The ProductsProcedure: 1. Take a group of 5 students2. Administer 15 minute Math section and 15 minute Critical reading section to gauge initial scores 3. Have “Anonymous student” record observations in the class Repeat steps 1-3 with the same students but include an extra credit incentive for anyone who can increase their scores by (100 points or more...) 4. Observe correlation in data sets.

Observations

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The Products Continued

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Experiment with Reading Section

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Conclusions From Second Experiment

Everyone scored significantly lower (but this was due to subjects having a better grasp on mathematics).There were no obvious signs of cheating and none that were observed during testing. This may be due to the fact that even is people were cheating off of each other, no one person was extremely prepared for this section of the test.

Experiment with Math Section Extra Credit for Top

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Conclusions From Third Experiment

No cheating whatsoever during the test.The reason is because if I am only giving extra credit to the top scorer, it is in each testers best interest to keep their answers hidden (as each person wants to be the top scorer)

Experiment with Extra Credit Given to Top Two

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Conclusions From Fourth Experiment

Subjects B and C were clearly cheating off of subject A.Both subjects B and C wanted to extra credit and copied off who they believed would be the highest scorer.

Final ThoughtsEach experiment had a unique outcome due to the variables I changed within each test.In tests 1 and 4, subjects were found cheating to get the extra credit I was offering.I have proven however in each experiment that cheating is not inherent and in my opinion is only utilized when a major incentive is given in exchange for good performance on any test.