Dataset of the effect of difficulty messaging on academic cheating in middle school Chinese children

Li Zhao; Junjie Peng; Liyuzhi D Dong; Yaxin Li; Haiying Mao; Brian J Compton; Jiacheng Ye; Guoqiang Li; Gail D Heyman; Kang Lee

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2022.108405

Dataset of the effect of difficulty messaging on academic cheating in middle school Chinese children

Data Brief. 2022 Jun 20:43:108405. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2022.108405. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318 Yuhangtang Rd, Yuhang District, Hangzhou 311121, PR China.
² Dr Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, 45 Walmer Rd., Toronto, Ontario M5R 2X2, Canada.
³ Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, USA.
⁴ Department of Primary Education, Hangzhou Normal University, PR China.

Abstract

The present dataset was reported in a paper entitled "Effects of test difficulty messaging on academic cheating among middle school children" [1]. It reports the findings of an experimental study that used a naturalistic math test-taking paradigm to assess children's academic cheating behavior under different test difficulty messaging conditions. The participants were Grade 8 middle school children (N = 201). The primary dependent measures were whether each participant spontaneously decided to cheat (presence of cheating), and among participants who cheated, the specific number of test items on which they cheated (extent of cheating). We used logistic regression, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation to assess whether various predictor variables (e.g., conditions) predicted the presence of cheating or the extent of cheating. This dataset should be of interest to researchers who are interested in the development of moral behavior in children generally, and academic dishonesty in particular.

Keywords: Academic cheating; Academic dishonesty; Academic honesty; Academic integrity; Development; Difficulty messaging; Middle school children; Moral psychology.