How peer behavior shapes academic misconduct: The roles of moral disengagement and shame
- 1Dongshin University, Naju, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Academic misconduct predisposition remains an important concern in higher education, and peer behavior perception has emerged as a relevant correlate of students’ academic integrity-related tendencies. Drawing on social cognitive theory and Bandura’s moral disengagement theory, this study examined how perceived peer misconduct is associated with students’self-reported predisposition toward academic misconduct through moral disengagement and shame. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 418 undergraduate students from a comprehensive university in Shandong, China. Structural equation modeling and Bootstrap analyses with 5,000 resamples were used to estimate a serial mediation model. The results showed that peer behavior perception was positively associated with moral disengagement (β = .423, p < .001), moral disengagement was negatively associated with shame (β = −.223, p < .001), and shame was negatively associated with academic misconduct predisposition (β = −.309, p < .001). The direct association between peer behavior perception and academic misconduct predisposition remained statistically significant (β = .272, p < .001). Bootstrap results further showed significant indirect effects through moral disengagement, through shame, and through the serial pathway from moral disengagement to shame. The serial indirect effect was significant, effect = .026, 95% CI [.01, .04]. These findings suggest that perceived peer misconduct is associated with academic misconduct predisposition partly through higher moral disengagement and lower shame. The study provides a theory-consistent account of how perceived peer norms, moral rationalization, and affective self-sanctions are related to academic integrity among university students.
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BibTeX
@article{yang2026peer,
title = {{How peer behavior shapes academic misconduct: The roles of moral disengagement and shame}},
author = {Yang Yang and Lanxin Hong},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358871},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358871},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - How peer behavior shapes academic misconduct: The roles of moral disengagement and shame
AU - Yang Yang
AU - Lanxin Hong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358871
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358871
AB - Academic misconduct predisposition remains an important concern in higher education, and peer behavior perception has emerged as a relevant correlate of students’ academic integrity-related tendencies. Drawing on social cognitive theory and Bandura’s moral disengagement theory, this study examined how perceived peer misconduct is associated with students’self-reported predisposition toward academic misconduct through moral disengagement and shame. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 418 undergraduate students from a comprehensive university in Shandong, China. Structural equation modeling and Bootstrap analyses with 5,000 resamples were used to estimate a serial mediation model. The results showed that peer behavior perception was positively associated with moral disengagement (β = .423, p < .001), moral disengagement was negatively associated with shame (β = −.223, p < .001), and shame was negatively associated with academic misconduct predisposition (β = −.309, p < .001). The direct association between peer behavior perception and academic misconduct predisposition remained statistically significant (β = .272, p < .001). Bootstrap results further showed significant indirect effects through moral disengagement, through shame, and through the serial pathway from moral disengagement to shame. The serial indirect effect was significant, effect = .026, 95% CI [.01, .04]. These findings suggest that perceived peer misconduct is associated with academic misconduct predisposition partly through higher moral disengagement and lower shame. The study provides a theory-consistent account of how perceived peer norms, moral rationalization, and affective self-sanctions are related to academic integrity among university students.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -