Achievement Motivation and Academic Dishonesty: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

Abstract

Academic dishonesty is a rampant and troubling phenomenon in the educational sector. Although demographic factors have been linked with students’ academic dishonesty in the literature, many of these aspects are difficult to change. However, students’ motivation, a known malleable factor, may allow for opportunities to shape students’ beliefs, goals, and values, which can, in turn, mitigate academic dishonesty. In light of the growing literature on this topic, a research synthesis is needed to clarify discrepant findings and identify salient motivation factors associated with academic dishonesty. Thus, we examined relations between academic dishonesty and motivation as informed by achievement motivation frameworks. From 79 studies, meta-analytic results indicated that academic dishonesty was negatively associated with classroom mastery goal structure, individual mastery approach goals, intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, utility value, and internal locus of control. Academic dishonesty was positively linked with amotivation and extrinsic goal orientation. Students’ age was a significant moderator for the relation between intrinsic motivation and academic dishonesty. Implications from meta-analytic findings are drawn with regard to theory and practice.