http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-05/sfpa-atm051815.php
Public Release: 22-May-2015
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Why do good people do bad things? It's a question that has been pondered for centuries, and new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology may offer some insights about when people succumb to versus resist ethical temptations.
"People often think that bad people do bad things and good people do good things, and that unethical behavior just comes down to character," says lead research author Oliver Sheldon, PhD. "But most people behave dishonestly sometimes, and frequently, this may have more to do with the situation and how people view their own unethical behavior than character, per se."
In a series of experiments, participants who anticipated a temptation to act unethically were less likely to then behave unethically, relative to those who did not. These participants also were less likely to endorse unethical behavior that offered short-term benefits, such as stealing office supplies or illegally downloading copyrighted material. The study was published online in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin on May 22, 2015.
"Self-control, or a lack thereof, may be one factor which explains why good people occasionally do bad things," says Sheldon, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Rutgers University.
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