Self-doubt and self-regulation: A systematic literature review of the factors affecting academic cheating in online learning environments

Abstract

Online and computer-assisted learning have become widespread in the rapidly evolving education landscape. However, these learning modalities uniquely challenge academic integrity, escalating the potential for academic cheating. This systematic review used thematic and narrative syntheses to examine the relationships and the effects of self-doubt and self-regulation on academic cheating in online and computer-assisted learning environments. It involved a sample of 93 peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 1998 and 2023 across five electronic databases adhering to the principles of the PRISMA framework. Findings reveal that different emotional, motivational, and cognitive factors act as primary mediators, while the individual, situational, and environmental factors were significant moderators. These findings underscore the context-dependent and inconsistent effects of self-doubt and self-regulation on academic cheating. Notably, while self-doubt and self-regulation exert opposing influences on academic cheating, other factors, such as gender, culture, performance, feedback, peer pressure, and proctoring, significantly modify these effects. Hence, the relationship between self-doubt, self-regulation, and academic cheating in online and computer-aided learning is thus intricate and dynamic, depending upon various individual, situational, and contextual elements that shape students’ motivation, emotions, and cognition. Therefore, this study contributes to the broader discourse on online and computer-aided learning by offering strategies to prevent and reduce academic cheating. Recommendations include promoting self-regulation, reducing self-doubt, focusing on specific mediators and moderators, and utilizing different resources and techniques to measure and identify academic cheating. The results underline the importance of a concerted, multi-faceted approach to upholding academic integrity in the era of digital learning.