Shame, Embarrassment, and Formal Sanction Threats: Extending the Deterrence/Rational Choice Model to Academic Dishonesty |
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| Authors: | John K Cochran Mitchell B Chamlin Peter B Wood Christine S Sellers |
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| Institution: | Is associate professor and associate chair of criminology at the University of South Florida. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Florida in 1987. His current research interests involve empirical tests of mainstream criminological theories.;Is associate professor in the Division of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the State University of New York at Albany in 1985. His continuing research interests are in issues of causality and the testing of macrosocial theories of crime and crime control.;Is an assistant professor at Colorado State University. He has done fieldwork in Bolivia on farmers' cooperatives and in Spain on issues of economic democracy, rhetorical practice, and organizational culture. Currently, he is involved in field research on community forestry organizations in Mexico.;Is currently associate professor and graduate director of criminology at the University of South Florida. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Florida in 1987. Her current research interests address issues of violence among intimates and the testing of criminological theories. |
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| Abstract: | Following the lead of Grasmick and Bursik (1990), we propose that significant others and conscience both function as agents of social control to deter illicit behavior in a manner similar to that provided by the law and more formal, bureaucratic organizations. All three–conscience, significant others, and formal organizations–entail potential threats and costs (i.e., shame, embarrassment, and formal sanctions). Actors consider these potential threats and costs, and assess the certainty and severity of them, in deciding whether or not to engage in criminal or deviant behavior. In the research reported here, data from a sample of undergraduate students are employed to examine the effects of perceived certainty and severity of shame, embarrassment, and formal sanction threats of the self-reported prevalence of involvement in a variety of forms of academic dishonesty. The results suggest rather limited support for the deterrence/rational choice model, nearly all of which is due to the influence of conscience (shame). |
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