Previous research on nudges conducted with adults suggests that the accessibility of behavioral options can influence people's decisions. The present study examined whether accessibility can be used to reduce academic cheating among young children. We gave children a challenging math test in the presence of an answer key they were instructed not to peek at, and manipulated the accessibility of the answer key by placing various familiar objects on top of it. In Study 1, we used an opaque sheet of paper as a two-dimensional occluder, and found that it significantly reduced cheating compared to a transparent plastic sheet. In Study 2, we used a three-dimensional occluder in the form of a tissue box to make the answer key appear even less accessible, and found it was significantly more effective in reducing cheating than the opaque paper. In Study 3, we used two symbolic representations of the tissue box: a realistic color photo and a line drawing. Both representations were effective in reducing cheating, but the realistic photo was more effective than the drawing. These findings demonstrate that manipulating accessibility can be an effective strategy to nudge children away from cheating in an academic context. They further suggest that different types of everyday objects and their symbolic representations can differentially impact children's moral behavior.

中文翻译：

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利用环境推动减少幼儿的学业作弊

以前对成年人进行的助推研究表明，行为选择的可及性会影响人们的决定。本研究探讨了可访问性是否可用于减少幼儿的学业作弊。我们给孩子们提供了一个具有挑战性的数学测试，他们被要求不要偷看答案键，并通过将各种熟悉的物体放在答案键上来操纵答案键的可访问性。在研究 1 中，我们使用不透明纸作为二维封堵器，发现与透明塑料纸相比，它显着减少了作弊。在研究 2 中，我们使用纸巾盒形式的 3D 封堵器使答案键看起来更不易接近，并发现它比不透明纸更有效地减少作弊。在研究 3 中，我们使用了纸巾盒的两种符号表示：逼真的彩色照片和线条图。两种表现都有效地减少了作弊，但真实的照片比绘画更有效。这些发现表明，操纵可访问性是一种有效的策略，可以让孩子远离学术环境中的作弊行为。他们进一步表明，不同类型的日常物品及其象征性表现会对儿童的道德行为产生不同的影响。这些发现表明，操纵可访问性是一种有效的策略，可以让孩子远离学术环境中的作弊行为。他们进一步表明，不同类型的日常物品及其象征性表现会对儿童的道德行为产生不同的影响。这些发现表明，操纵可访问性是一种有效的策略，可以让孩子远离学术环境中的作弊行为。他们进一步表明，不同类型的日常物品及其象征性表现会对儿童的道德行为产生不同的影响。