Cheating in the Classroom: Invisible Barriers Also Promote Moral Behavior on Children

A cardboard on top of the desk has become a common fixture during exams. It is used to control the cheating among students who might peak to the answers of their seatmates.

However, a new study reveals that even with a see-through or a pretend barrier, students will also not cheat. The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that the effect of cardboard partitions and those invisible ones is the same.

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Cheating in the Classroom: Invisible Barriers Also Promote Moral Behavior on Children

Read: Encouraging Children To Talk To Themselves Can Help With Their Math Scores

Moral Barrier Hypothesis

The researchers from the University of California, Hangzhou Normal University and the University of Toronto conducted four experiments involving 35 children in China aged five to six years old. The goal of their experiment is to demonstrate that the idea of a barrier when taking a test discourages a child from cheating.

They used simple metal frames and clear plastic as barriers. These barriers do not necessarily make it hard for the child to cheat. However, it significantly reduced cheating to 20%- 30% from a baseline of 50%.

On the other hand, a pretend barrier outlined in the air with a magic wand also does the trick.

According to the researchers, the math test was so hard that the children were tempted to cheat and not finish it in the allotted time. There are barriers placed between the child and the answer key as well as on the other side of the child and other parts of the room which did not encourage honest behavior.

Lead author Gail Heyman, a professor of psychology in the UC San Diego said that their experiment illustrates the power of 'nudges' that Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler has shown to be effective in adults.

"It also suggests that people's ideas about morality are deeply rooted in how they think about space. This is probably why there are so many spatial metaphors for morality such as 'cross the line' and 'keep on the straight and narrow," says Heyman.

The study also extends to previous research about moral behavior in children. According to Heyman, the experiment advances the "moral barrier hypothesis" of the researchers, which suggests that "moral violations can be inhibited by the introduction of spatial boundaries."

Furthermore, it confirms the assumption in architecture that physical environments can affect human behavior, which is why companies spend so much time in designing workplaces. These cues can direct people where to stand in line or how far apart should they be to maintain a safe distance.

Effect of Environmental Nudges

The experiment yielded a surprising result, which suggests that even young children can pick up unfamiliar and subtle environment cues in guiding their moral behavior.

According to the first author Li Zhao of Hangzhou Normal University, children as young as five years old need not the incentives to behave properly while the experiment is ongoing. They already have the desire to impress other people by getting high grades.

The researchers conclude that environmental nudges can encourage positive behaviors and discourage negative behaviors. A simple example would be posting reminders of hand washing or a colorful path from the toilet to the sink to encourage children to wash their hands.

Study author Kang Lee from the University of Toronto said that parents and teachers might use environmental nudges for moral education.