The relationship between just world belief and wellbeing, cheating behaviors, and academic work behaviors during COVID 19 among university students

Abstract

Is the belief in a just world among students also stable under COVID-19? To answer this question, a study was conducted with university students from Germany (n = 291). The aim of the study was to analyze the predictive performance of the personal belief in a just world (PBJW) on students' life satisfaction and academic cheating and to take into account important mediators from the university context such as fellow student justice, lecturer justice, and procrastination. Derived from existing research, university students with a stronger PBJW should be more satisfied with their lives and cheat less than those with a weaker PBJW. The results support the hypothesized direct effects of PBJW on life satisfaction. Procrastination additionally mediated the effect of PBJW on life satisfaction. The level of PBJW predicted academic cheating only indirectly. The mediators procrastination and lecturer justice were crucial here. The results persisted when gender, learning, time to exam, socially desirable responding, general BJW, and self-efficacy were controlled. The findings were discussed in relation to the stressful situation caused by COVID-19. A reflection on the adaptive function of PBJW as a resource and relevant situation-specific mediators for university research and practice followed.

Can spiritual power reduce online cheating behavior among university students? The fraud triangle theory perspective

“…In accordance with this, previous researchers have stated that if students perceive injustice, they will typically respond with anger and disappointment and may attempt to stand against authority through academic dishonesty (Phutikettrkit and Thomas, 2019;Münscher et al, 2020). Several researchers have recently found a negative influence between lecturers' justice and online cheating (Münscher, 2022;Münscher et al, 2020). It indicated that when lecturers treat students fairly, students will tend to not engage in online cheating.…”

“…Despite the demonstrated correlation between fairness and cheating, there are still gaps in the prior studies' findings. Some researchers discovered a positive significant correlation between fairness and dishonesty (Kaufmann and Tatum, 2018;Nigjeh et al, 2019;Münscher et al, 2020;Münscher, 2022), whereas other studies demonstrated a weak positive relationship (Akbas lı et al, 2019;Phutikettrkit and Thomas, 2019). Recognizing the disparity, we attempted to bridge the gap by proposing spirituality as a moderating variable.…”

“…Spirituality moderates the relationship between lecturer justice, opportunity to cheating and online cheating Prior studies have considered the role of justice in online classes (Kaufmann and Tatum, 2018). More specifically, the exploration related to lecturers' perceptions of justice in online classes, primarily on how lecturers conduct class discussions, exams, grades, and facilitate conversation, as this fairness is likely to influence student behavior (Münscher, 2022). It seems plausible, given that students' perceptions of injustice are often associated with negative student behavior and reactions in the classroom (Kaufmann and Tatum, 2018;Nigjeh et al, 2019).…”

“…One of the factors that may contribute to the perception of equity or unfairness in online classes is the high transparency of the established rules, norms and assessments, as this is a requirement for digital instruction and digital examinations by students. Münscher (2022) explained that the transparency of the code of conduct in the classroom and exams are vital for behavior development of students. If justice prevails, it will motivate students to follow existing regulations without engaging in online fraud.…”

“…Several universities in Malaysia claim that the student–lecturer relationship is significant for the continuity of learning (Chelliah et al , 2019). Fair treatment by lecturers can increase feelings of respect and belonging between lecturers and students (Münscher, 2022). Several studies support the idea that fair treatment in universities, especially by lecturers, is significantly associated with lower levels of cheating among students (Langenfeld, 2020; Münscher, 2022; Münscher et al , 2020) and conversely, unjust lecturers may lead to an increase in academic cheating.…”