How peer behavior shapes academic misconduct: The roles of moral disengagement and shame

Academic misconduct predisposition remains an important concern in higher education, and peer behavior perception has emerged as a relevant correlate of students' academic integrity-related tendencies. Drawing on social cognitive theory and Bandura's moral disengagement theory, this study examined how perceived peer misconduct is associated with students'self-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 (β = .423, p < .001), moral disengagement was negatively associated with shame (β = -.223, p < .001), and shame was negatively associated with academic misconduct predisposition (β = -.309, p < .001). The direct association between peer behavior perception and academic misconduct predisposition remained statistically significant (β = .272, p < .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 = .026, 95% CI [.01, .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.