Behavioral Beliefs about Acts of Academic Dishonesty: A study with Brazilian accounting students

Abstract

This study seeks to identify, with the support of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), individual behavioral beliefs that determine academic dishonesty behaviors. Qualitative research was conducted with Brazilian students and revealed their perceptions on academic dishonesty behaviors. According to the results, students perceive that fraud can lead to a better academic performance and less effort or time spent on academic tasks, but it can also result in punishment and embarrassment when it’s perceived by faculty, as well as impair learning and concerns about their future professional performance. The research contributes to the construction of an instrument for collecting and measuring beliefs, which can be considered as a relevant contribution to the literature and to understanding fraudulent behaviors.