Cross-Cultural Analysis of Attitude towards Plagiarism among British and Russian Students

The study was aimed at understanding the attitude toward plagiarism among British and Russian students and sociocultural factors influencing the attitude. The study was based on the interview of Russian and British students and teachers. The results gained during the research showed that such sociocultural factor as a collectivistic and individualistic character of the cultures have a strong influence on the perception of idea, text, and authorship among Russian students. Russian students regard the text as a common good, devoid of the author, while British students regard the text as a product of someone’s creativity. Also, a significant difference was identified in the very approach learning process and interaction with information that later affects the tolerant attitude towards plagiarism. Thus, such strategy of learning as memorizing which is highly presented in Russian education also affects the attitude to the text as something impersonal. At the same time analyzing as the main approach to the information presented in British educational system gives not only an understanding of the authorship but also is a means to satisfy self-expressing needs important in the question of intrinsic motivation. Moreover, an exaggerated value of higher education in the society creates a shift of values from knowledge, to Diploma itself, what in its turn raises a formal attitude toward education and makes plagiarism a tool in of process achieving this cultural goal. Hereby the study showed that plagiarism is a complex sociocultural phenomenon, which is determined by the sociocultural factors of the culture in which it is considered.