Have you ever said, "Do what I say, not what I do?" Or words to that effect. Those of us who are parents have certainly engaged in behavior we admonish our children to abstain. Perhaps we let ourselves off the hook by saying, "Well, I'm older and wiser and I understand the consequences of what I do better than my immature kids, so it's okay if I do it."
And maybe that's okay. But what about those times when we let ourselves off the hook because of feelings of power? Like, "I'm the PARENT - you are the CHILD." Our power as parents defends our rights to abuse the ethical position we advocate. Maybe we don't make our beds, use profanity, or over-imbibe. But it's okay - these are little things and we are entitled since we are older, wiser, and more importantly, in positions of power.
Carry the familial example into the world of commerce and we fry a different kettle. An upcoming article in Psychological Science by Joris Lammers at Tilburg University and Adam Galinksy at Northwestern University show that power indeed corrupts and those with power feel entitled to abuse ethical guidelines. Our everyday experience that power grants immunity from unethical behavior can range from the petty, "I didn't make my bed," to the perverse, "I took the pension plan because I was angry over being forced out of my own company" (this is my imaginary quote of actual claims made by the lawyer for Hank Greenberg, formerly of AIG).
The Lammers and Galinsky article has been reviewed here and here. I recommend reading both the media reviews and the article itself when it is published.
What's also fascinating about how power corrupts is how we watch the powerful abuse it and often do nothing. Max Bazerman at Harvard University has an astounding career as a social scientist observing, testing, and reporting on a variety of issues like power, decision-making, and negotiation. One of his studies, with Francesca Gino at the University of North Carolina, shows that when the powerful abuse their power slowly over time, we follow along without objection. In some cases we follow blithely, not even noticing the erosion of moral or ethical judgement.
But Bazerman and Gino warn us all in their analysis, "We like to believe only a few bad apples cross to the other side. In fact, under certain conditions, most of us can be expected to engage in unethical behavior."
Time for me to make my bed. (and wash my mouth out with soap - see my prior post, "Mood and Morality," on the power of washing as moral cleansing).
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