A Scale to Assess Perceptions of Cheating in Examination-Related Situations

The Perceptions of Cheating Scale (POCS) was developed to assess perceptions of academic cheating in examination-related situations. The final form of the POCS contained 30 items depicting cheating scenarios. Respondents were required to assign levels of punishment appropriate for the cheating described. Data were collected from both college students and faculty. As partial validation, a comparison was made between faculty and student response patterns. Results showed clear differences with faculty consistently assigning harsher punishments. Examination of the relationships between the POCS and several criterion variables yielded some small but statistically significant coefficients.