Self-efficacy negatively correlates with cheating, but actual ability does not inversely correlate with dishonesty¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · checked against its sources 2026-10-17 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q2 i? A meta-analysis found self-efficacy negatively correlates with cheating while actual ability does not inversely correlate with dishonesty; higher-ability students are not necessarily less likely to cheat. → Sandra Leaton Gray 2025

Evidence¶

Sandra Leaton Gray 2025¶

Sandra Leaton Gray, Dominic Edsall, Dimitris Parapadakis. (2025). AI-Based Digital Cheating At University, and the Case for New Ethical Pedagogies. Journal of Academic Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-025-09642-y

q2 · i? · theoretical · r2

The article reports the meta-analytic finding of Krou et al. (2021) second-hand: "self-efficacy negatively correlates with cheating" but ability does not. No correlation coefficient is printed, so no magnitude is reported.

"In their meta-analysis, Krou et al. (2021) found that, while self-efficacy negatively correlates with cheating, actual ability does not inversely correlate with dishonesty."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Motivation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Self-Efficacy — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Learners' task-specific self-efficacy beliefs predict whether they initiate, persist through, and recover from difficulty on academic tasks. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Extrinsic goals are more strongly associated with cheating than intrinsic enjoyment of learning — related
Learning goals and self-evaluation raise task orientation and lower ego orientation, and self-efficacy correlates positively with task orientation — related
Cheating tendency significantly predicts AI-assisted academic dishonesty, and the association is stronger at higher levels of AI use — related
Academic procrastination and learned helplessness positively predict cheating tendency, while academic self-efficacy negatively predicts it among university students — related
Beliefs about action and willpower, shaped by discussion, causally alter behaviour such as cheating and persistence — related
Mastery goals are negatively associated with academic dishonesty across studies — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`self-efficacy-negative-ability-not-correlated-cheating`
`title`	`Self-efficacy negatively correlates with cheating, but actual ability does not inversely correlate with dishonesty`
`description`	`Self-efficacy negatively correlates with cheating, but actual ability does not inversely correlate with dishonesty`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`weak`
`newest_evidence`	`2025`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-17`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-11`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `sandra-leaton-gray-2025`

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