Psychology of Corruption

Psychology of corruption
By Ma. Regina M. Hechanova

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:56:00 03/15/2008
Filed Under: Government, Graft & Corruption

MANILA, Philippines?We toppled a dictator and thought we had gotten rid of his
cronies. Yet four administrations later, the same issues of graft and corruption
continue to plague our country. Amid the prospect of history repeating itself?some
wonder, will changing presidents really eradicate corruption? Probably not?unless
we understand the reasons why corruption continues to exist in the country and we
do something about it.
A recent study on the attitudes of Filipinos toward graft and corruption by Ateneo
Psychology students Tanya Gisbert, Therese Posas and Karla Santos shed some light
on the phenomenon. They interviewed 12 people and surveyed 380 others from
income classes A, C and E in Metro Manila from October to December last year.
They asked how people defined corruption, what acts they would consider corrupt,
why they think corruption exists and whether they would engage in it. In the survey,
respondents were asked to rate corrupt acts in terms of how acceptable they are
and the likelihood that they would engage in them.
Form of stealing
Their study found that people commonly defined corruption as some form of
stealing. Corrupt acts fall into two types: small scale (those done by individuals as
citizens or in a business context) and large scale (those associated with
government).
Examples of small-scale acts include paying a police officer to avoid getting a fine
and paying off government offices to speed up transactions. In the business setting,
corrupt acts could include charging personal expenses to the company and
pocketing excess travel allowance.
Large-scale acts are those associated with the government?electoral fraud,
kickbacks, getting material things in return for favors, etc. Although the majority of
the respondents said that they had not engaged and would not engage in largescale corrupt acts, there was significantly greater tolerance for small-scale corrupt
acts.
Commonplace
Asked why corruption exists, the respondents cited the negative image of our public
officials. Some respondents even described corruption as being commonplace or
worse as ?being in our blood.?
When asked why one would engage in it, those from class E surmised that perhaps
it stemmed out of need or even the survival of one?s family. Those in upper classes
cited the difficulty in transacting with government, hence the need to cut corners.
As one respondent said, ?It?s already there. So might as well benefit. Why
inconvenience myself when there is an easier way to get to it??
An interesting finding of the study is that those from class A have significantly
higher scores in acceptance and intent to engage in corrupt acts compared with
those in lower classes.
The middle class was the least tolerant of corrupt acts. Related to this, those from
lower and middle classes reported feeling victimized by corruption. Many of the
respondents complained about seeing their tax payments wasted by nonexistent or
poor-quality services. As said by one respondent, ?The barangay captain announced
that there would be free medicines and checkups. Nothing was given out allegedly
because of budget constraints. Afterwards, he was seen driving a new car and his
house was renovated!?
How does one understand these findings? Although corruption can be viewed from
many perspectives, corruption can be seen as a learned social phenomenon that is
rooted in several psychological concepts:
Vicarious learning
We learn from the actions of others and people have come to associate corruption
with the government. Unfortunately, there is so much press coverage of corrupt
acts of public officials and very few role models to counteract such stereotypes. This
may shape the minds of the young and future leaders into expecting that corruption
is acceptable.
Desensitization
Although people decry corruption in government, they also find acts such as paying
off fixers to expedite transactions as more acceptable. The problem with this is
where does one draw the line between small and large acts? Big acts start with
small ones.
Rationalization
People who engage in negative behaviors will typically seek to justify their
behaviors so they do not feel conflicted. The responses suggest one strategy used is
denial of responsibility?the corrupt act was done only because of the circumstances
and that there was no choice. A second justification is denial of injury?the act does
not harm anyone and the end justifies the means.
Reinforcement
One explanation for the differences in attitudes toward corruption between
socioeconomic classes is reinforcement. For those with higher income, the cost of
corruption is minor compared with its benefits the amount paid to a cop is minor in
comparison with the hassle of retrieving a confiscated license.
The responses of the middle and lower classes suggest that what is significant to
them is how they are being victimized by corruption seeing how their tax money is
being squandered on poor service or officials personal gain.
Learned helplessness
Despite such anger toward corruption, there also appears to be a sense of
helplessness in doing something about it. People seem to believe it is difficult to
eradicate corruption precisely because it is those in power who are engaging in it.
What can be done?

Given all the factors that are creating this culture of corruption, what can be done?
The Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development has a framework for
culture-building in organizations.
Although the scale is much larger, the elements are applicable as well. The CREATE
model stands for Communicate, Role-model, Engage, Align systems and structures,
Train and Evaluate. An important part of building a culture is explicitly stating the
desired norms. However, such talk needs to be backed up by action.
The problem with President Macapagal-Arroyo?s recent statement that she is also
against corruption is that people simply cannot believe her?not when she and her
family are associated with controversial deals.
Engagement means bringing different publics together to strategize and implement

anticorruption measures. The more the watchdogs there are, the less bold people
will be. Alignment of systems, structures and resources means putting in the
necessary checks and balances to prevent and prosecute graft and corruption.
Training people and institutions to detect and address issues of graft is also
important in diminishing the sense of helplessness.
However, value orientation also needs to begin in school and in our homes.
Finally, evaluating anticorruption efforts are important. For example, the country
currently ranks 131st out of 179 countries in Transparency International?s 2007
Corruption Perception Index. Improving such ranking will give people some hope
that change can happen.
In a UNDP conference against corruption, eminent international thinkers advocated

institutional reform, law enforcement and public support as important ingredients in
the fight against corruption.
As shown in this study, corruption is a complex phenomenon that has deep

psychological and cultural roots. It suggests that beyond the actions of our leaders
and institutions, we need to believe that corruption can be eliminated. Such change
may take generations and will require a concerted effort from our family, schools
and other institutions. But perhaps more importantly, it requires our commitment to
be part of such efforts and be the change we would like to see.

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Psychology of Corruption

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Psychology of corruption

By Ma. Regina M. Hechanova

Filed Under: Government, Graft & Corruption

What can be done?

Engagement means bringing different publics together to strategize and implement

In a UNDP conference against corruption, eminent international thinkers advocated

As shown in this study, corruption is a complex phenomenon that has deep

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