{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:49:59Z","timestamp":1792000199841,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791936000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Academic misconduct predisposition remains an important concern in higher education, and peer behavior perception has emerged as a relevant correlate of students\u2019 academic integrity-related tendencies. Drawing on social cognitive theory and Bandura\u2019s moral disengagement theory, this study examined how perceived peer misconduct is associated with students\u2019self-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 (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009.423, p\u2009&lt;\u2009.001), moral disengagement was negatively associated with shame (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u2212.223, p\u2009&lt;\u2009.001), and shame was negatively associated with academic misconduct predisposition (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u2212.309, p\u2009&lt;\u2009.001). The direct association between peer behavior perception and academic misconduct predisposition remained statistically significant (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009.272, p\u2009&lt;\u2009.001). 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\u2009=\u2009.026, 95% CI [.01,\u2005.04]. 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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0358871","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:21:17Z","timestamp":1791998477000},"page":"e0358871","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["How peer behavior shapes academic misconduct: The roles of moral disengagement and shame"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Yang","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dongshin University","place":["Naju, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-6354-7594","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Lanxin","family":"Hong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dongshin University","place":["Naju, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0358871.ref001","article-title":"Integrity levels of Chinese college students: An analysis of influencing factors","volume":"7","author":"X Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Educ"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0358871.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14181","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-18394-3","article-title":"The effects of personality traits and attitudes towards the rule on academic dishonesty among university students","volume":"12","author":"H Wang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1007\/s12564-017-9497-2","article-title":"A comparative study of academic dishonesty among university students in Mainland China and Taiwan","volume":"18","author":"SC Yang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Asia Pacific Educ Rev"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"236","DOI":"10.1177\/0273475304268779","article-title":"Academic Integrity in the Business School Environment: I\u2019ll Get by with a Little Help from My Friends","volume":"26","author":"KJ Chapman","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Marketing Education"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2097","DOI":"10.2147\/PRBM.S370402","article-title":"Machiavellian Medical Students Report More Academic Misconduct: A Cocktail Fuelled by Psychological and Contextual Factors","volume":"15","author":"AC Ver\u00edssimo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol Res Behav Manag"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1007\/BF03216825","article-title":"Perceptions of the prevalence and seriousness of academic dishonesty in Australian universities","volume":"32","author":"M Brimble","year":"2005","journal-title":"Aust Educ Res"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102370","DOI":"10.1016\/j.techsoc.2023.102370","article-title":"Use of ChatGPT in academia: Academic integrity hangs in the balance","volume":"75","author":"SA Bin-Nashwan","year":"2023","journal-title":"Technology in Society"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0358871.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"402","DOI":"10.1080\/00221546.2007.11772322","article-title":"A Typology of University Ethical Lapses: Types, Levels of Seriousness, and Originating Location","volume":"78","author":"PC Kelley","year":"2007","journal-title":"The Journal of Higher Education"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0358871.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"427","DOI":"10.1007\/s10648-020-09557-7","article-title":"Achievement Motivation and Academic Dishonesty: A Meta-Analytic Investigation","volume":"33","author":"MR Krou","year":"2020","journal-title":"Educ Psychol Rev"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1080\/01425692.2025.2454315","article-title":"Publish or perish: a study on academic misconduct in publishing among Chinese doctoral students","volume":"46","author":"C Wu","year":"2025","journal-title":"British Journal of Sociology of Education"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref011","first-page":"45","article-title":"Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action.","author":"A. Bandura","year":"1991","journal-title":"Handbook of moral behavior and development. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327019EB1103_2","article-title":"Cheating in Academic Institutions: A Decade of Research","volume":"11","author":"DL McCabe","year":"2001","journal-title":"Ethics & Behavior"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"925","DOI":"10.1111\/bjep.12481","article-title":"Peer likeability and victimization in young adolescents: Moderating effects of descriptive and status group norms for aggression and prosocial behaviour and network density","volume":"92","author":"D Aguilar-Pardo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Br J Educ Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100455","DOI":"10.1016\/j.edurev.2022.100455","article-title":"Academic dishonesty and its relations to peer cheating and culture: A meta-analysis of the perceived peer cheating effect","volume":"36","author":"L Zhao","year":"2022","journal-title":"Educational Research Review"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0358871.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1080\/0305724022014322","article-title":"Selective Moral Disengagement in the Exercise of Moral Agency","volume":"31","author":"A Bandura","year":"2002","journal-title":"Journal of Moral Education"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref016","volume-title":"Moral disengagement: How people do harm and live with themselves","author":"A Bandura","year":"2016"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"491","DOI":"10.1080\/0144929X.2024.2325023","article-title":"Interplay of rationality and morality in using ChatGPT for academic misconduct","volume":"44","author":"L Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Behaviour & Information Technology"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0358871.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1080\/03055690802257127","article-title":"Cases of incongruity: exploring the divide between adolescents\u2019 beliefs and behavior related to academic dishonesty","volume":"34","author":"JM Stephens","year":"2008","journal-title":"Educational Studies"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0358871.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1744-6570.2011.01237.x","article-title":"Why employees do bad things: moral disengagement and unethical organizational behavior","volume":"65","author":"C Moore","year":"2012","journal-title":"Personnel Psychology"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"725","DOI":"10.1007\/s10551-016-3373-6","article-title":"Understanding the Interplay Among Regulatory Self-Efficacy, Moral Disengagement, and Academic Cheating Behaviour During Vocational Education: A Three-Wave Study","volume":"153","author":"R Fida","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Bus Ethics"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"857943","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.857943","article-title":"Exploration of students\u2019 perception of academic misconduct: Do individual factors, moral philosophy, behavioral intention, and judgment matter?","volume":"13","author":"CL Huang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Frontiers in Psychology"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0358871.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"364","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.71.2.364","article-title":"Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency","volume":"71","author":"A Bandura","year":"1996","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref023","volume-title":"Shame and guilt in neurosis","author":"HB Lewis","year":"1971"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref024","author":"JP Tangney","journal-title":"Shame and guilt. Guilford Press"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref025","first-page":"1","article-title":"Guilt, Shame and Academic Misconduct","author":"GJ Curtis","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Acad Ethics"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"852","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780195126013.003.0045","article-title":"The Moral Emotions","author":"J Haidt","year":"2002","journal-title":"Handbook of Affective Sciences. Oxford University PressNew York, NY"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9280.2009.02306.x","article-title":"Contagion and differentiation in unethical behavior: the effect of one bad apple on the barrel","volume":"20","author":"F Gino","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychol Sci"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0358871.ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1080\/10508422.2019.1628644","article-title":"The impact of mindfulness and perceived importance of peer reporting on students\u2019 response to peers\u2019 academic dishonesty","volume":"30","author":"B Culiberg","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ethics & Behavior"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0358871.ref029","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1080\/00405841.2017.1283571","article-title":"How to Cheat and Not Feel Guilty: Cognitive Dissonance and its Amelioration in the Domain of Academic Dishonesty","volume":"56","author":"JM Stephens","year":"2017","journal-title":"Theory Into Practice"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0358871.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"495","DOI":"10.3390\/rel14040495","article-title":"The Positive Motivation of Shame: Moral Emotion in the Mencius","volume":"14","author":"L Yu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Religions"},{"key":"pone.0358871.ref031","first-page":"389","article-title":"Translation and content analysis of oral and written material.","volume-title":"Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Methodology","author":"RW. Brislin","year":"1980"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"379","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1024954224675","article-title":"Individual and Contextual Influences on Academic Dishonesty: A Multicampus Investigation","volume":"38","author":"DL McCabe","year":"1997","journal-title":"Research in Higher Education"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0358871.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"501","DOI":"10.1080\/10508422.2013.802651","article-title":"An Investigation of College Students\u2019 Perceptions of Academic Dishonesty, Reasons for Dishonesty, Achievement Goals, and Willingness to Report Dishonest Behavior","volume":"23","author":"SC Yang","year":"2013","journal-title":"Ethics & Behavior"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0358871.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.21913\/IJEI.v1i1.14","article-title":"Cheating among college and university students: A North American perspective","volume":"1","author":"DL McCabe","year":"2005","journal-title":"IJEI"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0358871.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"293","DOI":"10.1007\/s11162-008-9116-5","article-title":"Situational and Personal Causes of Student Cheating","volume":"50","author":"DA Rettinger","year":"2008","journal-title":"Res High Educ"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0358871.ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"947","DOI":"10.1037\/a0022641","article-title":"Introducing the GASP scale: a new measure of guilt and shame proneness","volume":"100","author":"TR Cohen","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0358871","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:21:23Z","timestamp":1791998483000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0358871"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Sonia","family":"Vasconcelos","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis (IBqM) - Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)","place":["BRAZIL"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]]},"references-count":36,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0358871","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]]}}}