Next time you’re caught cheating in school, just blame hormones.
Hi everyone, Amy here on DNews.
Pretty much everyone has cheated on a test at some point in their lives.
While it’s generally frowned upon and I’m trying to condone it, peeking at the names
of the Great Lakes on a geography test when you’re six doesn’t mean you’re going
to grow into a horrible adult.
Some early psychological research into why kids cheat landed on moral development.
As we age, we become less egotistical and more moral, drawing us away from doing something
we know is wrong.
Other studies have suggested cheating is the result of cost-benefit analysis: if the reward
for cheating is greater than the outcome of getting caught, kids will take the risk.
In either case, these rationales point to cheating as a subconscious decision, but what
if it’s not a decision at all?
New research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology says that those who cheat on tests
do so because of hormones.
Extra testosterone gives us the courage to cheat, and extra cortisol gives us the motivation.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin asked a group of people to take a math
test and grade it themselves, knowing that the more questions they answered correctly
the more money they would earn.
They also took saliva samples before and after the test.
The results showed that people with elevated levels of testosterone and cortisol were more
likely to lie about the number of questions they answered correctly.
Testosterone decreases fear of punishment and increases sensitivity to reward, so that
would explain why some cheated.
Elevated cortisol, meanwhile, is linked to a state of chronic stress that can be almost
debilitating, so that could be a powerful motivator in deciding to cheat.
Those who cheated also showed lowered levels of cortisol after the test, consistent with
a reduction of emotional stress you might expect from having successfully cheated on
a test.
So that’s good?
Not really.
The reduction of stress triggered a powerful stimulation of the reward centre of the brain,
effectively reinforcing unethical behaviour.
The flip side is that people with lower levels of both testosterone and cortisol could be
less prone to this unethical behaviour.
But it’s not like parents could remove testosterone from their children for the sake of better
test-taking behavior!
Instead, there are ways to break that cycle of hormonal responses reinforcing cheating.
Research cited in the same study says that individuals rewarded in a group were less
susceptible to the effects of testosterone on performance, and those who engaged in stress-reducing
activities like yoga were less moved to cheat due to lower cortisol levels.
So if you want to raise an ethical student, group yoga might help!
At least, that’s my own thought, and if you’re curious to know more of my thoughts
on other topics, namely space, be sure to check out my personal channel, Vintage Space.