Understanding AIgiarism in higher education: the lens of general AI attitudes and moral disengagement
研究调查了中国江苏高校373名本科生，发现学术支持通过AI态度影响AIgiarism（AI辅助抄袭），且道德推脱调节这一路径，提出了“中介数字诚信模型”。
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence in academic environments has created unprecedented challenges for maintaining academic integrity, particularly concerning AI-facilitated plagiarism (AIgiarism). Using stratified random sampling, we surveyed 373 undergraduate students across government universities in Jiangsu Province, China, to investigate the complex interplay between institutional support mechanisms, moral-psychological processes, and students’ engagement with AI tools in academic work. Through validated instruments, our research reveals a moderated mediation model where attitudes towards AI technology significantly mediate the relationship between academic support and AIgiarism (β = −0.384, p < .001), with moral disengagement moderating both paths (β = 0.152, p < .002; β = 0.178, p < .001). These findings challenge traditional deterrence-based approaches to academic integrity and introduce the ‘Mediated Digital Integrity Model,’ emphasizing the dynamic interplay between institutional, attitudinal, and moral factors. Our research contributes to the emerging literature on digital academic integrity and provides crucial insights for developing integrated AI ethics programs in higher education.