ATTITUDES TOWARDS CORRUPTION: PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTEXT

Abstract

Today, corruption remains widespread in many countries around the world, especially in states with low levels of democracy and transparency. It destroys economic and political systems, creating inequality, undermining trust in the authorities, and hindering socio-economic development. Research into the psychological aspects of attitudes toward corruption is important for understanding the causes and consequences of corrupt behavior, as well as for developing effective strategies to combat corruption at the individual, societal, and state levels. The aim of this study is to identify the psychological characteristics of citizens’ attitudes toward corruption and their specific features. The article presents the difference between attitudes and perceptions of corruption. It is emphasized that attitudes toward corruption are personal internal feeling that determine behavioral responses, while perceptions of corruption relate to the assessment of this phenomenon in a social context. The article examines types of attitudes towards corruption, which can vary from active rejection and resistance to corrupt actions to neutral or conscious support for corruption, with numerous intermediate states. The origins of corruption are revealed through: Cressy’s “fraud triangle” (motivation, opportunity, and rationalization) with the addition of a fourth element–personal abilities; through its close connection with phenomena such as deprivation, frustration, and deviation, which reinforce each other and push the individual toward “shortcuts” to satisfy their needs. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the problem of corruption is associated with certain personality traits (lack of empathy, egocentrism, manipulativeness, a sense of exceptionality, avoidance of responsibility). A connection is noted between the “dark triad of personality” (narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism) and corrupt behavior. Machiavellians justify corruption as a strategy, narcissists use it to strengthen their status, and psychopaths ignore moral prohibitions.