2023 - Full Presentation Schedule
A Preliminary Investigation of Counterproductive Student Behaviors
Abstract
Counterproductivity is broadly defined as intentional behaviors that are harmful to stakeholders (e.g., employer, coworkers, the self) and have long been studied by industrial/organizational psychologists, as well as by social psychologists who aim to understand numerous forms of individual-level deviance (e.g. criminal activity).
Counterproductivity can be observed and examined in various settings among various populations including students in their school setting (e.g. lying to teachers and cheating on tests). While counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) have a substantial background of study by psychologists, there is very little research on counterproductive student behaviors (CSBs).
In fact, the few studies examining CSBs focus on discrete behaviors (e.g., cheating) or apply measures developed in the CWB literature, thereby potentially limiting the scope and utility of their findings. Provided these limitations and the dearth of extant literature on CSBs, the current study aims to establish a more exhaustive and contemporary measure of student counterproductivity that is specific to the student population in their natural school setting.
The study’s sample included 288 students from the University of South Carolina Upstate of varying genders, racial identities, academic standings, and enrollment statuses, each of which were given an anonymous online survey asking the frequency in which they engaged in counterproductive behaviors. Findings indicated that the most frequently reported behaviors were cheating, dishonesty, cyberloafing, and lack of effort.
As this is the first attempt, to the authors’ knowledge, of creating a student-specific CSB measure, we believe that our findings may be used to a) inform decision-makers of general frequencies in which these behaviors occur, and b) develop of a psychometrically-sound instrument that could advance future research into the structure and relationships between various CSBs.
Keywords: counterproductivity; counterproductive student behavior; academic dishonesty; deviance
A Preliminary Investigation of Counterproductive Student Behaviors
CASB 102 - Education and Learning
Counterproductivity is broadly defined as intentional behaviors that are harmful to stakeholders (e.g., employer, coworkers, the self) and have long been studied by industrial/organizational psychologists, as well as by social psychologists who aim to understand numerous forms of individual-level deviance (e.g. criminal activity).
Counterproductivity can be observed and examined in various settings among various populations including students in their school setting (e.g. lying to teachers and cheating on tests). While counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) have a substantial background of study by psychologists, there is very little research on counterproductive student behaviors (CSBs).
In fact, the few studies examining CSBs focus on discrete behaviors (e.g., cheating) or apply measures developed in the CWB literature, thereby potentially limiting the scope and utility of their findings. Provided these limitations and the dearth of extant literature on CSBs, the current study aims to establish a more exhaustive and contemporary measure of student counterproductivity that is specific to the student population in their natural school setting.
The study’s sample included 288 students from the University of South Carolina Upstate of varying genders, racial identities, academic standings, and enrollment statuses, each of which were given an anonymous online survey asking the frequency in which they engaged in counterproductive behaviors. Findings indicated that the most frequently reported behaviors were cheating, dishonesty, cyberloafing, and lack of effort.
As this is the first attempt, to the authors’ knowledge, of creating a student-specific CSB measure, we believe that our findings may be used to a) inform decision-makers of general frequencies in which these behaviors occur, and b) develop of a psychometrically-sound instrument that could advance future research into the structure and relationships between various CSBs.
Keywords: counterproductivity; counterproductive student behavior; academic dishonesty; deviance