The test I cheated on
THE RUB
I cheated on my confirmation test. I was in sixth grade and didn't care much about the teachings of our church, but it was important to my grandparents. I attended the classes with our minister, learned a few things, and then, at the end of our instruction, was given a test.
The minister had inadvertently left the answer key lying out where I could see it as the test began. I looked over and copied the answers from the first page of the exam. That gave me the edge to score just high enough to pass.
During the follow-up with the minister, he mentioned how I had started out so strong and then fell apart as the test went on. I was thinking, yeah, that's because I could only cheat on the first page.
That moral lapse has stuck with me for over 40 years. I wonder how I would do with that scenario today. If I'm playing cards with my family and I can see somebody's hand, I look away and say, "Hold your hand up where I can’t see it.” But those stakes are much lower, and I mostly like my family.
What if I have to succeed at something very challenging and an easy way to win presents itself? Will I once again engage in dishonest behavior?
THE FRAMEWORK
I’ve been fascinated by the postmortem reports of the OpenAI agents that hacked Hugging Face. The research report discovered 1,200 OpenAI agents who created a makeshift message board and shared more than 70,000 messages. This collective group discovered a way of cheating on cybersecurity tests and took steps to cover up their cheating.
It’s easy to find examples of cheating in the news. The Clippers were recently fined $30 million plus five forfeited first-round picks, suspensions for Ballmer and two execs, and a separate $700K penalty for Kawhi Leonard for coordinating sham endorsement deals for Leonard to pay him more than the salary cap allowed.
In his essay, “There’s Really Only One Way to Stop Students from Cheating,” Adam Grant shares a story of feeling betrayed by his students at Wharton. After learning that some students were planning to use AI to cheat on a take-home exam, he changed the test to an essay asking students to write about how to motivate students to stop cheating.
“Their responses shocked me. Hardly any students saw cheating as a violation of integrity. A majority made excuses: We’re under a lot of stress. Everyone else is doing it. We have no choice. They sounded like major league baseball players in the steroid era. ChatGPT was their performance-enhancing drug.”
He cites research studies that explain that as the stakes get higher so does the likelihood of cheating. And this nugget hit close to home for me. Compartmentalizing can help rationalize cheating. Sometimes I cheat, but I’m not a cheater.
People of strong moral identity choose differently when presented with the temptation to cheat. If my moral identity had been stronger at 11, I would have told the minister that I could see the answer sheet.
THE PRACTICE
So how do I become a person with strong moral identity? Grant argues that ethics education can make a difference, but not through “hectoring or lecturing.” We have to grapple with dilemmas ourselves and persuade ourselves that ethical behavior matters.
I'm not about to volunteer to teach ethics to elementary school kids. But I can challenge my friends to wrestle with ethical questions over lunch or twelve miles into a long run.
My personal story of cheating will only carry a conversation so far. I want three to five real dilemmas in my back pocket. Something pulled from the internet's endless supply of moral arguments, a workplace gray area like taking credit or bending a small rule, and something small and everyday, like finding cash on the sidewalk or covering for a friend.
Then I'll set up the scenario without the resolution and see where the conversation goes.
After a few rigorous discussions, maybe I’ll sign up for a religious studies class, study for the exam, and earn a shot at redemption. Nah. Next family game game, when somebody’s hand drifts low, I’ll call it out again, and pat myself on the back for my mature moral superiority.