Friday, August 31, 2012

Honor Codes?

A further interesting question that has come out of the as-of-yet alleged cheating scandal at Harvard is whether Harvard should have an honor code.  The question is particularly interesting since Harvard attempted to institute a voluntary "freshman pledge" last year, that met with "controversy" (see here, here for example).  Harry Lewis wrote a detailed opinion of the pledge on his blog at the time.  Indeed, Harry Lewis in fact has spoken consistently on this issue for some time -- here's a 1996 Crimson article where he is quoted:
"Our understanding is that in registering at Harvard students agree to abide by the rules of the community they are voluntarily entering. It is not clear why a special signed agreement of another kind would be needed, or would add anything."
As if often the case, I agree with Harry's opinion above.  Also, I'd much rather have students discussing the issues and coming to grips with what are sometimes challenging ethical questions rather than signing a pledge.   

Come to think of it, I'm not sure if freshmen are to be asked to sign the pledge again this year.  (The pledge is not an honor code per se, but has been called the "kindness pledge".)

But back to the question.  Should Harvard have an honor code?  Why?  What would it add?  More empirically, do honor codes actually reduce bad behaviors, like cheating?  Is there evidence of it?  I note that many cheating scandals have occurred at schools with honor codes -- like the Naval Academy and Duke -- though apparently some researchers suggest an honor code could reduce cheating.

A natural question:  should punishments be more severe for cheating if cheating is part of an honor code?

Clearly, the question of whether we should have an honor code is going to arise at Harvard this year.  Any opinions in advance?

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