Cheating
Categories: Cleanup from August 2005 | Sociology
Cheating is defined as an act of deception, fraud, trickery, imposture, or imposition. Cheating characteristically is employed to create an unfair advantage, usually in one's own interest, and often at the expense of others. Cheating may imply the breaking of rules. The term "cheating" is less applicable to the breaking of laws, as illegal activities are referred to by specific legal terminology such as corruption. The term fraud carries over into law.
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Education
A common venue for cheating is in education settings, where it takes a number of forms. Cheating on tests may include the sharing of information among test takers or the use of covert notes or crib sheets. Obtaining the questions or answers to a test ahead of time is another form of cheating. On essay assignments or term papers cheating often takes the form of plagiarism. Internet plagiarism is a growing concern. Some schools subscribe to services which help them detect this type of cheating. Most colleges have written policies defining and sanctioning plagiarism.
Cheating is considered both unethical and immoral by most, and may face stiff punishment if discovered. Although some faculty indicate they are reluctant to take action against suspected cheaters. Academic honor codes appear to reduce cheating; nonetheless, it remains quite common among students.
A 2005 survey by the Center for Academic Integrity reported that 70% of American college students admitted to some cheating. The survey indicated that cheating is also a problem in high schools, where 60% of students in public and parochial schools admitted to plagiarism. Instances occur where teachers and school administrators have been implicated in cheating on tests to improve their students' scores. Generally, an exaggerated emphasis on the significance of performance test scores triggers the motivation to cheat among some individuals.
Sport
Another venue where cheating remains common is in sport. While the rules of competition/games/sport are artificial and arbitrary, an implicit agreement exists among participants that they will play by the rules and eschew unfair measures to win. Cheaters violate the spirit and/or the letter of the rules of competition. A prevalent instance is the current epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids and other forms of doping by athletes. Such tactics imply cheating even when not explicitly against the rules, as it gives both an unnatural and unfair advantage to the user. Another example of cheating frequently seen in sport is the use of nonregulation (vis-a-vis the rules) equipment. Attempting to intentionally injure an opponent is an instance of poor sportsmanship that borders on cheating.
Personal relationships
With regard to human relationships, couples may expect sexual fidelity of each other. If so, then cheating commonly refers to forms of infidelity, particularly adultery.
Business
Within the business district, many high seats are reserved for the elite. However these occupations may seem unreachable to the honest man working today. Niccolò Machiavelli's key phrase of "The Ends Justify the Means" comes into play with cheating and it is required to endorse a minimal amount of deception in order to reach one of these spots. Such characters fought in order to reach the top and would find any way possible to reach a height of importance.
Evolutionary theory
Within the context of evolutionary theory, cheating often refers an individual of a species not upholding its end of a cooperative bargain. For instance, individuals within some species of birds are known to place their eggs in another unknowing individual’s nest, thus “cheating” the recipient out of the strategic resources needed to keep the egg warm.
Reference
David Callahan. The Cheating Culture. Harvest Books, 2004.