teststemptations

Teststemptations is a neologism used to describe the set of temptations that arise in testing contexts, influencing choices, performance, and integrity. The term blends test with temptations and is used in educational psychology and related discussions to highlight how situational factors, cognitive load, and motivational dynamics interact during assessments.

Common forms include cheating temptations (considering or attempting to copy answers), avoidance temptations (ceasing effort or skipping items), distraction temptations (urges to check a phone or chat with peers), and collaboration temptations (looking at another's work). The origins are situational, including time pressure, high stakes, perceived unfairness, and misalignment between assessment and learning.

Impact and management: teststemptations can undermine validity and reliability and learning outcomes by inflating performance or eroding integrity. Interventions include assessment design to reduce cheating advantages (randomized item order, appropriate proctoring), reducing perceived stakes with formative components, and training in self-control, task focus, and anxiety management. Clear honor codes, transparent scoring, and student education about ethics are also recommended.

Terminology and reception: as a term, teststemptations is not widely standardized and remains used in exploratory or descriptive contexts rather than as a formal theory.