Academic Cheating and Personality Traits: An Interactive Psychological Approach in the Digital Age

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the extent to which personality traits, as conceptualized by the Big Five model (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness), contribute to predicting academic cheating behavior. Our systematic review of the literature revealed a significant relationship between these traits and cheating tendencies, observable when the features of each factor rise or fall. Recent research (2023-2026) has added an important interactive dimension, demonstrating that the relationship between personality and cheating is not deterministic but is mediated by variables such as "moral disengagement," "academic pressure," "academic burnout," and "peer norms," in addition to technological transformations that have generated new forms of digital cheating and AI-assisted cheating. The significance of this study lies in providing a comprehensive theoretical and applied framework that researchers and educators can utilize to understand the psychological mechanisms underlying academic cheating and to design customized preventive programs that account for individual differences in personality traits.