Predicting cheating behavior: A longitudinal study with Chinese business students

The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) was applied to predict Chinese business students’ cheating behavior. Chinese business students (N = 205; response rate, 77.6%) were surveyed at 2 time points separated by 1 month. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, cheating intention, and demographic information were recorded at Time 1, and self-reported subsequent cheating behavior was measured at Time 2. The results show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were positively associated with the intention to cheat and cheating behavior; that subjective norms could impact significantly on attitude; and that perceived behavioral control had a direct effect on cheating behavior, but did not influence cheating behavior through the medium of intention. Finally, I developed a modified version of the theory of planned behavior designed to predict Chinese students’ cheating behavior effectively.