Attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioral control influence the academic integrity-related behavioral intentions of graduate students

• Ting Yang

  Army Medical University

• Yungui Wang

  Army Medical University

• Jun Deng

  Army Medical University

• Chunji Huang

  Army Medical University

Graduate students have become the driving force of scientific research at Chinese universities. Therefore, further work is needed to understand what influences postgraduate students’ academic integrity. Using the theory of planned behavior, this study investigated the relationships between postgraduates’ attitude toward academic integrity, social norms (subjective, descriptive, and moral), perceived behavioral control, and intentions, and examined the moderating role of social identity in the relationship between social norms and intentions. We conducted a survey with 1,256 Chinese biomedical postgraduate students, and analyzed the data with structural equation modeling. The results show that attitude, subjective norms, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control influenced students’ academic integrity-related behavioral intentions. The model explained over half of the variance in intentions, indicating that attitude, subjective norms, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control were the main variables influencing academic integrity-related behaviors. The theory of planned behavior can be applied in research on postgraduates’ academic integrity.

1. Ting Yang, Army Medical University
   Scientific Research and Academic Affairs Department
2. Yungui Wang, Army Medical University
   Scientific Research and Academic Affairs Department
3. Jun Deng, Army Medical University
   Scientific Research and Academic Affairs Department
4. Chunji Huang, Army Medical University
   Scientific Research and Academic Affairs Department

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