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People cheat because Gain(cheating) * P(not getting caught) > Cost(cheating) * (1 - P(not getting caught)). I would say this is true for everyone everywhere reg
by wsxcde 13y ago
People cheat because Gain(cheating) * P(not getting caught) > Cost(cheating) * (1 - P(not getting caught)). I would say this is true for everyone everywhere regardless of society, culture or race. India is trying to reduce P(not getting caught) because, from a policy perspective, the other terms in that equation are close to impossible to change.
The US doesn't have this problem because the gains due to obvious cheating aren't big enough. People do "cheat" in the sense of "acting unfairly to gain an advantage." For example using ADD prescriptions to get extra time on exams is a well-known trick, another is to have college application counsellors ghostwrite essays and then there are numerous other methods which may not technically count as cheating but achieve the desired effect. The difference is that people whose kids do this are also those who control the media narrative, so you've all been brainwashed into thinking that this is somehow more acceptable.
- adamwong246 13y agoDisagree on the ADD prescription point. ADD meds can boost performance but you still have to at least learn the material. Pills can't put knowledge in your head. But then again, I'm the one that wants to legalize steroids in the Olympics.
- incision 13y agoThe parent isn't referring to juicing with medication, rather seeking a diagnosis in order to receive accommodations like extra exam time [0]. The most notable example of this is probably the 2000 California audit: " An analysis of the numbers from the report yielded the following figures: white students were over-represented by 45%, students coming from families whose incomes exceed $100,000 were over-represented by 139%, and students from private schools were over-represented by 100%. The report also concluded that 18.2% of the requests granted were of “questionable” merit and gave students an “unwarranted” and “unfair” advantage. The report cited weaknesses in the College Board’s approval process as the cause of some of the unfair distribution." [1] In the meantime it actually became more desirable... "A 2000 audit of California test takers showed a disproportionate number of white, affluent students receiving accommodations, igniting suspicions of exaggerated or nonexistent disabilities. Three years later, in the wake of a lawsuit, ACT and the College Board stopped flagging scores of accommodated students for admissions offices; with the stigma gone, the incentive grew to game the system." [2] 0: https://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ssd/accommodations/time https://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ssd/accommoda... 1: https://www.applerouth.com/blog/2006/04/27/extended-time-and-other-accommodations-on-the-sat-and-act/ https://www.applerouth.com/blog/2006/04/27/extended-time-and... 2: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/education/edlife/07strategy-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/education/edlife/07strateg...
- fossuser 13y agoIf you're diagnosed with ADD you can get time and a half which makes an enormous difference on standardized exams with tight time limits like the SAT.
- judk 13y agoWhich is of course an insane system. SAT should give everyone that time and a half.
- nahname 13y ago>Gain(cheating) * P(not getting caught) > Cost(cheating) * (1 - P(not getting caught)) Western society has a much higher chance of getting caught and a much higher cost when caught because it views that behaviour as abnormal. India has a cultural problem where cheating is expected.
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- nahname 13y agoAnother way to think about chance of getting caught. How many undergrads have you observed reporting their peers for cheating? How many do you think would do that in India.
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- nebulasri 13y agoIndia has a cultural problem where cheating is expected. You are condemning an entire country and its "culture" with a single sentence. What evidence can you provide?
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- Pacabel 13y agoEven a minority of people engaging in a particular behavior can have a very significant impact on a culture as a whole. It's perfectly valid to say that the culture thus suffers from some sort of a problem, even if not everybody associated with that culture is responsible for the problem. Going based on the information in the article, and assuming it's correct, there does seem to be at least some sort of a problem with cheating far beyond what we see in other cultures, and it does appear to be widespread. The preventative actions described would be very unexpected in many other cultures, and totally unthinkable in others.