Experimental Studies to Clarify the Knowledge-to-action Gap in Information Ethics

Abstract

If learners cannot form an intention to take an appropriate action with reference to the knowledge of information ethics, it cannot be said that the learners have working knowledge of ethical principles. In the present study, the two experiments are conducted with high school students to examine if the knowledge-to-action gap can be confirmed by means of paperand-pencil tests consisting of knowledge and intention tasks of information ethics. The knowledge task is to inquire about appropriate behavior regarding the correct knowledge, while the intention task is an inquiry whether the respondents consciously select the action or not. The experiments 1 and 2 indicated that participants take unethical behaviors even though they know appropriate behavior. In addition, the experiment 2 demonstrated that the participants estimated the number of classmates with unethical behavior is higher than the actual number. These results indicate the importance of education and teaching methods, which need to be carefully designed to reduce the gap between knowledge and action to comply with information ethics.