Body Image, Seat Position, GPA and Academic Honesty in College

Students
DATA INTRO
The data analyzed in this paper originated from 239 undergraduate students at
an unspecified major university in 2015. Students were chosen at random and given a
survey to fill out, asking about their gender, height, college and high school GPAs,
where they sat in class, how they felt about their weight, and whether or not they would
report seeing a classmate cheating. This use of a random sample means the data
originated from an experiment and not from an observational study and is therefore
more appropriate to apply to the entire population of the university at which this study
was conducted.
VARIABLES
Gender
Height

Female: 63.56%
Male: 36.44%

Range: 59-77
Mean: 66.77
Median: 67
Mode: 63
Standard deviation: 3.81
College GPA
Range: 1.8-4.5
Mean: 3.12
Median: 3.01
Mode: 3
Standard deviation: 0.53
High School GPA
Range: 1.4-4.2
Mean: 3.31
Median: 3.43
Mode: 4
Standard deviation: 0.62
Seat in Class
Front: 21.61%
Middle: 58.47%
Back: 19.92%
Opinion of Own Weight
Underweight: 8.3%
About Right: 71.18%
Overweight: 20.52%
Report Cheaters?

 Yes: 8.47%
No: 91.53%
POSSIBLE CONFOUNDING VARIABLES
Nature of University
As the specific university at which this study was conducted
was not revealed, variables such as degree programs and majors offered,
admission rates, and location are unable to be accounted for.
Age
Students ages were not recorded as part of this study, and
age (especially when there are generation gaps) could certainly influence
GPA as well as a students stance on cheating in class.
Year in School
While this study focused specifically on undergraduate
students, the length of time spent in school could also influence GPA and
stance on cheating as well as where students choose to fit in class- shyer
new students tend to sit towards the front less frequently than students
who are more comfortable at school.
Warped Perception of Own Weight
Students actual weights and BMIs were not recorded as part
of this study, so there is no way to tell if the statements students made
about their weights are indeed accurate. Unrealistic expectations
perpetuated by popular media specifically equating being thin with being
healthy could lead many students that are actually underweight to report
themselves as being just right- or, inversely, students that struggle with
eating disorders or low self-esteem could incorrectly report themselves as
being overweight while they are actually perfectly healthy. Self-reported
behavior also tends to be less accurate than behavior recorded by an
objective third party, so there is some room for students to incorrectly
report their weight, consciously or not.

HYPOTHESES
Correlation between opinion of own weight and seat in class
Null hypothesis: r=0
Experimental hypothesis: r0
Experimental hypothesis: Students with lower self-esteem
(expressed through their opinion of their weight) are more likely to sit
towards the back of the class.
Note: seven responses to the question of weight were left
blank. These were excluded from correlation calculations.
Correlation between seat in class and college GPA

 Null hypothesis: r=0

Experimental hypothesis: r0
Experimental hypothesis: Students that tend to sit in the front
of the class are more interested in the material and therefore will have
higher GPAs- inversely, students that tend to sit towards the back are less
interested and therefore will have lower GPAs.
Correlation between college GPA and if they would report a cheater
Null hypothesis: r=0
Experimental hypothesis: r0
Experimental hypothesis: Students with more dedication to
academic performance (expressed through higher GPAs) will also be
more dedicated to academic honesty, making them more likely to report a
classmate they see cheating.
All results will be interpreted at the 0.05 level of significance. Categorical
variables were assigned rankings to allow for inclusion in correlation computations.
CALCULATIONS / INTERPRETATION
Correlation between opinion of own weight and seat in class
r=0.031
Being below the 0.05 threshold, this result is not statistically
significant and does not lead to rejection of the null hypothesis.
Correlation between seat in class and college GPA
r=-0.1711853094
Being above the 0.05 threshold, this result can be
considered statistically significant and supports rejection of the null
hypothesis.
Ranks of 100, 200, and 300 were assigned to the front,
middle, and back of the class- because this is a negative correlation, this
means that as students move further back, their GPA drops.
Correlation between college GPA and if they would report a cheater
r=-0.02662233228
Being below the 0.05 threshold, this result is not statistically
significant and does not lead to rejection of the null hypothesis.
CONCLUSIONS
The negative findings in this analysis show that while it may seem logical, there
is actually no significant correlation between students self-image and where they sit in
class or between students GPA and how likely they are to report a cheater. However
accurate a measure of self-image students opinion of their weight is, it does not
translate into sitting further back in class, as one might assume.
Academic performance and academic honesty are seemingly not directly
related- however, because of the severely skewed distribution in this data set (only

8.47% of respondents said they would report a cheater), this conclusion does not
necessarily represent the general population. Confounding variables such as age and
the nature of the university could contribute to this skewing, as well as the phrasing of
the question itself- being self-reported and an expression of intent instead of a measure
of actual reports, the results do not necessarily accurately reflect the amount of actual
reports of academic dishonesty.
Meanwhile, the positive finding shows that there is indeed a correlation between
where students sit in class and their GPAs. Both of these variables could be measures
of student motivation and interest in the material. Additional possible explanatory
variables include decreased ability to see and hear when sitting further back and
increased interaction with teachers when sitting further forward. Correlation does not
equal causation, however- potential confounding variables should be considered, such
as teachers subjective grading favoring students that sit towards the front of the class
due to familiarity or perception of greater interest.
LINK TO RAW DATA & CHARTS