Dishonesty Tendencies in Testing Scenarios Among Students with Virtual Reality and Computer-Mediated Technology

TL;DR

This study compares dishonest behaviors of students in virtual reality and traditional testing environments, finding similar levels of cheating in both settings, highlighting VR's potential and challenges in e-learning.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that students cheat equally in VR and traditional tests, offering insights into dishonesty in emerging educational technologies.

Findings

Cheating levels are similar in VR and traditional tests

VR can be a viable platform for e-learning with comparable integrity issues

Students' deceptive behaviors are consistent across testing environments

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) systems have the potential to be an innovation in the field of e-learning. Starting with fully functional e-classes, VR technologies can be used to build entire e-campuses. The power of VR is that it allows for stronger contact with students than computer-mediated technology. Deceptive behaviour, both verbal and nonverbal, refers to intentional activities designed to deceive others. Students often engage in dishonest practices to make progress. Whether it is cheating on an exam, copying another student's essay, or inflating their GPA, the motivation for cheating is rarely simply a lack of preparation. Even though some may see academic dishonesty as an asset, the reality is that it can have major consequences. This poster demonstrates the findings from a study of students' deceitful behaviour during a test in VR and in real-life situations. For this user study, 22 volunteers were invited to participate, with each experiment involving exactly two participants and the examiner present in the room. Students were invited to take two tests: one in VR and one on a laptop. Their goal was to score as many points as possible by simulating a real-world online exam. Participants were requested to complete questionnaires during and after each experiment, which assisted in collecting additional data for this study. The results indicate that the amount of cheating that happened in VR and on a laptop was exactly the same.