Gender and Sociometric Status Differences in Children's Cheating Behavior

Julie A. Hubbard and Alan W. Stein

University of Delaware

Although a considerable literature exists on children's moral development (Burton, 1984; Mischel, 1987), researchers have largely ignored peer social interaction as a context in which to study this construct. In addition, while gender differences in children's moral development has been a topic of research for many years (Gilligan, 1982), these differences have seldom been explored in the context of the peer culture.

In the current study, our aim was to examine one index of children's moral behavior, cheating during a game with a peer. Differences in the cheating behavior of 1) boys versus girls, and 2) peer rejected versus sociometrically average children were investigated. Participants were 111 African-American, second-grade children. Children were equally divided between sociometrically average and rejected children and between boys and girls.

Children's cheating behavior was observed using a paradigm in which the participants interacted with a same-age, same-sex confederate in a game playing situation that was videotaped. Each child played the same game twice, with a different confederate each time. Both games were "rigged' so that the participant would lose to the confederate. In the first game, the confederate played fairly. However, in the second game, the confederate was trained to display noticeable cheating behavior at three specified points during the game. Thus, it was possible to examine children's cheating behavior in two contexts: while playing with a peer who played fairly, and while playing with a peer who engaged in cheating behavior.

Children's game-playing behavior was observed for each of the 23 turns that they took during each of the two games. Behavior during each turn was coded into one of three categories: 1) the child took the turn fairly and correctly, 2) the child cheated by playing incorrectly and to his/her advantage, or 3) the child played incorrectly but in such a way as to be to his/her disadvantage. The last code allowed for an assessment of children's understanding of the game and carelessness during the game, two factors which may result in unintentional behavior that resembles purposeful cheating.

It was hypothesized that boys would exhibit a greater frequency of cheating than girls due to their greater emphasis on and socialization around the construct of competition. In addition, it was hypothesized that peer-rejected children would exhibit more cheating behavior than sociometrically average children. In past research, peer-rejected children have been shown to value the instrumental goal of winning over the social goal of being liked by a peer (Hubbard & Coie, 1995). This value system was expected to result in a greater tendency to cheat on the part of rejected children.

Results will be discussed in terms of the role that children's goals for social interaction play in the development of moral behavior.