HEXACO, the Dark Triad, and Chat GPT: Who is willing to commit academic cheating?

Tobias Greitemeyer; Andreas Kastenmüller

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19909

HEXACO, the Dark Triad, and Chat GPT: Who is willing to commit academic cheating?

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 6;9(9):e19909. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19909. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Tobias Greitemeyer¹, Andreas Kastenmüller²

Affiliations

¹ University of Innsbruck, Austria.
² University of Siegen, Germany.

Abstract

The rise in popularity of Chat GPT, an advanced language model that uses deep learning techniques to simulate human-like conversation, has raised concerns about its potential misuse, particularly in academic contexts. The present study (N = 283) explored the relationship between personality traits and the intention to use chatbot-generated texts for academic cheating. Among the HEXACO and Dark Triad traits, Honesty-Humility, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience (all negative), Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (all positive) were significant predictor variables. A multiple regression analysis showed that Honesty-Humility had the most robust association with the intention to use chatbot-generated texts for academic cheating. Further analyses on the facet level revealed that the fairness facet of Honesty-Humility was the most predictive, suggesting that individuals high in Honesty-Humility refrain from using chatbot-generated texts for academic cheating as they prioritize fairness over their own interests. Promoting Honesty-Humility and its fairness facet can be a valuable approach to promoting ethical behavior in academic and other contexts.

Keywords: Academic cheating; Chat GPT; Dark Triad; HEXACO.