Abstract
Unethical behavior occurs and can be explained by a number of theoretical approaches. This article is a report of a survey concerned with determining the factors which may influence unethical behavior. The respondents identified three factors (Grade Instrumentality, Attributing Blame Factor, and Negative Dispositional Factor) underlying the commission of unethical activities. An integration of the theories and the factors yielded a number of suggestions which may impact the propensity to engage in unethical behavior.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Akers, R. L.: 1985, Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Approach, 3d ed., Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
Andanaes, J.: 1966, 'The General Preventive Effects of Punishment', University of Pennsylvania Law Review 114, 949-983.
Baird, J. S.: 1980, 'Current Trends in College Cheating', Psychology in the Schools 17, 515-522.
Bandura, A.: 1977, Social Learning Theory, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Buckley, M. R., D. S. Wiese and M. Harvey: 1998, 'An Investigation Into the Dimensions of Unethical Behavior', Journal of Education for Business, in press.
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: 1990, Campus Life: In Ssearch of Community, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ.
Deming, W. E.: 1986, Out of the Crisis, MIT Initiative for Advanced Engineering Study, Cambridge, MA.
Fishbein, L.: 1993, 'We can Curb College Cheating', The Chronicle of Higher Education 40, A52.
Gottfredson, M. and T. Hirschi: 1990, A General Theory of Crime, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Graham, J. W., G. Marks and W. B. Hansen: 1991, 'Social Influence Processes Affecting Adolescent Substance Abuse', Journal of Applied Psychology 76, 291-298.
Grasmick, H., C. Tittle, R. Bursik and B. Arneklev: 1993, 'Testing the Core Empirical Implications of Gottredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime', Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 30, 5-29.
Hill, J. and R. A. Kochendorfer: 1969, 'Knowledge of Peer Success and Risk of Detection as Determinants of Cheating', Developmental Psychology 1, 231-238.
Hirschi, T.: 1969, Causes of Delinquency, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jones, D.: 1997, '48% of Workers Admit to Unethical or Illegal Acts', USA Today, April 4-6.
Kim, W. C. and R. Mauborgne: 1997, 'Fair Process: Managing in the Knowledge Economy', Harvard Business Review July–August, 65-75.
Leming, J. S.: 1980, 'Cheating Behavior, Subject Variables, and Components of the Internal-external Scale under High and Low Risk Conditions', Journal of Educational Research 74, 83-87.
Levine, D. R.: 1995, 'Cheating in Our Schools: A National Scandal', Reader's Digest October, 65-70.
McCabe, D. L. and W. J. Bowers: 1993, 'Academic Dishonesty among Male College Students: A Thirty-year Perspective', Journal of College Student Development 35, 3-10.
McCabe, D. L. and L. K. Trevino: 1993, 'Academic Dishonesty: Honor Codes and other Contextual Influences', Journal of Higher Education 64, 522-538.
McCabe, D. L. and L. K. Trevino: 1996, 'What We Know about College Cheating: Longitudinal Trends and Recent Developments', Change January/February, 29-33.
Michaels, J. W. and T. D. Miethe: 1989, 'Applying Theories of Deviance to Academic Cheating', Social Science Quarterly 70, 870-885.
Nunnally, J.: 1978, Psychometric Theory, McGraw Hill, New York.
Piliavin, I., G. Thornton, R. Gartner and R. L. Matsueda: 1986, 'Crime, Deterrence, and Rational Choice', American Sociology Review 51, 101-119.
Steininger, M., R. E. Johnson and D. K. Kirts: 1964, 'Cheating on College Examinations as a Function of Situationally Aroused Anxiety and Hostility', Journal of Educational Psychology 55, 317-324.
Sutherland, E. H. and D. R. Cressey: 1970, Criminology, 8th ed., Lippincott, Philadelphia.
Tittle, C. R. and A. R. Rowe: 1973, 'Moral Appeal, Sanction Threat, and Deviance: An Experimental Test', Social Problems 20, 488-498.
Vitro, F. T. and L. A. Schoer: 1972, 'The Effects of Probability of Test Success, Test Importance, and Risk of Detection on the Incidence of Cheating', Journal of School Psychology 10, 269-277.
Wiese, D. S. and M. R. Buckley: 1997, 'Are People Really as Unethical as We Think: A Reinterpretation and Some Research Propositions', Unpublished manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Buckley, M.R., Wiese, D.S. & Harvey, M.G. Identifying Factors Which May Influence Unethical Behavior. Teaching Business Ethics 2, 71–84 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009705418567
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009705418567