Cheating also extends to any form of
competition - be it
computer games, at
cards,
sexually (see above), in
sports, or in any activity that involves a form of
ranking or competition.
As a social commentary, cheating is more the act of altering the way a person acts to achieve inflated results. Often, the act of cheating is immoral or "illegal" - whether to the rules of the competition, the ordinary actions of a person in a social sense, or against the concept behind the motivation for the competition.
Cheating also has been documented to lead to reduced overall performance through the reliance on the "cheat" to achieve consistent results. Cheating in computer games usually leads to the player being ostracised, often even being banned from the game all together. If the player continues though, studies (too numerous to mention) have shown that the use of cheats leads to the overall maximum potential for the player being reduced to those who do not cheat.
Cheating is a concept that is anti-social, yet remarkably accepted in today's society. A cheater is often given "the benefit of the doubt", and sometimes is coupled with the underdog affection mentality and the reformed criminal hopes.