مجلة دراسات في سيكولوجية الانحراف

Psychological And Social Causes Of The Cheating Phenomenon In Examinations Among University Students

Auteurs : Chibane Asma . Iddir Abderrezak .

Résumé

Abstract: This theoretical study aims to analyze the psychological and social causes underlying cheating in university examinations, by addressing emotional stress, academic anxiety, and low self-esteem, in addition to peer pressure, family expectations, and cultural pressures in Arab university contexts. The study is based on an extensive review of the literature in educational psychology and sociology of education and relies on contemporary explanatory models such as the transactional model of stress, Self-Determination Theory, and Social Influence Theory. The theoretical findings indicate that the interaction between psychological factors (fear of failure, future anxiety, low self-worth) and social factors (classroom peer pressure, the “everyone cheats” culture, and high familial expectations) contributes to normalizing cheating behavior and turning it from an individual exception into a widespread pattern among university students. The study recommends implementing psychological counseling programs to enhance intrinsic motivation and self-confidence, alongside educational and cultural interventions to rebuild academic integrity values within the family, university, and society, and suggests conducting quantitative and qualitative field studies in different Arab universities to empirically validate the proposed theoretical models

Mots clés

Academic Cheating ; Psychological Stress ; Social Influence ; University Students