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Cognitive Dissonance in the Classroom: The Effects of Hypocrisy on Academic Dishonesty

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Date Issued:
2014
Abstract/Description:
Academic dishonesty and academic entitlement plague many college campuses. This research applies the theory of cognitive dissonance to the classroom in an attempt to curb academic dishonesty. Hypocrisy, a branch of the theory of cognitive dissonance, has been induced with regards to health and pro-social causes, but has not been applied to the field of higher education. In order to apply the concept of hypocrisy to academic dishonesty, a two-part experiment was conducted. The first portion of the experiment was an in-class manipulation and the second portion was an online survey conducted one month after the manipulation. Two hundred two students participated in both portions of the experiment. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (e.g., hypocrisy, commitment only, mindfulness only, control) and participated in two activities. One month after the manipulation took place, students were sent a link to the online survey with a cover story indicating that the survey was part of a research study. After the survey was closed, participants were debriefed and the data was cleaned. Upon analyzing the data, no significant results were detected. The lack of statistical significance was likely due to the month time lapse and the single dose of the manipulation treatment. Overall, this study pioneers the application of hypocrisy in the field of education and provides guidance for future hypocrisy induction studies.
Title: Cognitive Dissonance in the Classroom: The Effects of Hypocrisy on Academic Dishonesty.
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Name(s): Goldonowicz, Joanna, Author
Miller, Ann, Committee Chair
Neuberger, Lindsay, Committee Member
Katt, James, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Academic dishonesty and academic entitlement plague many college campuses. This research applies the theory of cognitive dissonance to the classroom in an attempt to curb academic dishonesty. Hypocrisy, a branch of the theory of cognitive dissonance, has been induced with regards to health and pro-social causes, but has not been applied to the field of higher education. In order to apply the concept of hypocrisy to academic dishonesty, a two-part experiment was conducted. The first portion of the experiment was an in-class manipulation and the second portion was an online survey conducted one month after the manipulation. Two hundred two students participated in both portions of the experiment. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (e.g., hypocrisy, commitment only, mindfulness only, control) and participated in two activities. One month after the manipulation took place, students were sent a link to the online survey with a cover story indicating that the survey was part of a research study. After the survey was closed, participants were debriefed and the data was cleaned. Upon analyzing the data, no significant results were detected. The lack of statistical significance was likely due to the month time lapse and the single dose of the manipulation treatment. Overall, this study pioneers the application of hypocrisy in the field of education and provides guidance for future hypocrisy induction studies.
Identifier: CFE0005338 (IID), ucf:50483 (fedora)
Note(s): 2014-08-01
M.A.
Sciences, Communication
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Cognitive Dissonance -- Hypocrisy -- Academic Dishonesty -- Academic Entitlement -- Classroom
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005338
Restrictions on Access: public 2014-08-15
Host Institution: UCF

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