According to a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applications in a study (PDF) , researchers at the university of British Columbia, points out that Surveys in the late 1990s found that two-thirds of college students admitted to cheating, and surveys in recent years have shown that the situation has gotten worse, with cheating rates as high as 80 percent.
Some researchers have linked cheating to environmental factors, others to personality differences, or to poor academic attitudes and preparation. In the new study, the researchers designed multiple experiments to identify the cheaters' personalities, cognitive abilities, and motivations. In one experiment, researchers gave 114 college students advance notice that their papers would be scanned with anti-cheating detection software. Despite this, 16 of the students cheated. The researchers found a clear correlation between cheating and mental illness. Some cheaters say they see cheating as a way to get the good grades they deserve. (solidot.org)