14 psychological reasons why good people do bad things

In large organizations, employees can begin to feel more like numbers or cogs in a machine than individuals.

When people feel detached from the goals and leadership of their workplace, they are more likely to commit fraud, steal, or hurt the company via neglect.

Source: Muel Kaptein

When bribery becomes "greasing the wheels" or accounting fraud becomes "financial engineering," unethical behavior may be seen in a more positive light.

The use of nicknames and euphemisms for questionable practices can free them of their moral connotations, making them seem more acceptable.

Source: Muel Kaptein

Employees reflect their environment. If corruption, major or minor, is a part of their workplace, they become blind to its occurrence and its possible costs.

A study incorporating participants from a variety of countries found that the less transparent and more corrupt the participant's country of origin, the more willing they were to accept or give bribes.

Source: Muel Kaptein

Sometimes people, having been moral and forthright in their dealings for a long time, feel as if they have banked up some kind of "ethical credit," which they may use to justify immoral behavior in the future.

An experiment from Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong found that people who have just bought sustainable products tend to lie and steal more afterwards than those who bought standard versions.

Source: Muel Kaptein

There are dozens of small temptations in any workplace. Stationery, sugar packets, and toilet paper frequently go home with employees.

Those small thefts are ignored. So are slightly larger ones, like over-claiming expenses or accepting unauthorized business gifts. It doesn't take long for people to begin pushing those limits.

Source: Muel Kaptein

Rules are designed to prevent unethical behavior, but when they're seen as unjust or excessive they can provoke the opposite reaction.

This is known as reactance theory. People resent threats to their freedom, and they often manifest that resistance by flouting certain rules.

Source: Muel Kaptein

Setting and achieving goals is important, but single-minded focus on them can blind people to ethical concerns.

When Enron offered large bonuses to employees for bringing in sales, they became so focused on that goal that they forgot to make sure they were profitable or moral. We all know how that ended.

Source: Muel Kaptein

Powerful people appear more corrupt because they're caught more publicly. However, a recent study found that when given power, people set ethical rules much higher for others than they do themselves.

If someone is influential and sets rules for others, they can begin to see themselves as morally distinct from their employees, and not subject to the same rules.

Source: Muel Kaptein

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani popularized the "broken window theory" when he led a sweeping effort to lower crime rates. The idea was to crack down on smaller, petty crimes, and clean up the city to create some semblance of order and discourage larger crimes.

When people see disorder or disorganization, they assume there is no real authority. In that environment, their threshold for overstepping legal and moral boundaries is lower.

Source: Muel Kaptein

In a study, a group of theology students were told to preach the story of the good Samaritan, then walk to another building where they'd be filmed. Along the way, they encountered a man in visible distress.

When given ample time, almost all helped. When they were deliberately let out late, only 63% helped. When encouraged to go as fast as possible, 90% ignored the man.

Source: Muel Kaptein

"If nobody else steals stationery, the company won't notice if I do. If nobody else in the area pollutes, they won't notice if a tiny bit of waste is released."

Positive and ethical behavior can sometimes engender an opposite reaction. If total damage is limited, people feel as though they can take more liberties.

Source: Muel Kaptein

When people's actions differ from their morals, they begin to rationalize both to protect themselves from a painful contradiction and to build up protection against accusations.

The bigger the dissonance, the larger the rationalization, and the longer it lasts, the less immoral it seems.

Source: Muel Kaptein

The way that people are seen and treated influences the way they act. When employees are viewed suspiciously and constantly treated like potential thieves, they are more likely to be thieves.

This effect occurs even in employees who aren't initially inclined towards unethical behavior.

Source: Muel Kaptein