Psychological aspects of studying corruption in foreign scientific studios

Abstract

The article examines scientific approaches and contexts of studying corruption as one of the most important psychological, social, economic and political problems. The article aims to determine the psychological contexts of the study of corruption as a complex multi-layered social phenomenon in foreign scientific studies; identifying its unexplored psychological variables in order to create conditions for the further development of programs for the prevention of corruption acts. The main areas of scientific analysis were: the perception of social norms and morality in the context of corrupt human behaviour, the influence of cultural beliefs and value systems, cross-cultural and gender specifics of corruption, etc. It is noted that not all societies perceive corruption in the same way. The ambiguity of the evidence of the classical interaction of power and corruption has been revealed. While some studies have indicated that involvement in power increases corrupt behaviour, others have shown that an individual's perception of power is important. It was established that perceived norms and moral costs are the main factors of a person's intention to engage in corruption-related behaviour. The perception that people around us are behaving dishonestly contributes to the further strengthening of such behaviour. Certain personality traits associated with corrupt behaviour have been identified. In particular, psychopathy, narcissism, machiavellianism, extraversion, extrinsic motivation, and low life satisfaction and self-esteem contribute to corruption. Regarding the gender of the participants, the results of the studies were mixed. It is emphasized the need to focus on situations and not on participants involved in petty corruption when forming anti-corruption measures. Rather than wishing for "more honest" officials or favouring stricter controls and fines or higher wages as solutions to corruption, the analytical results point to the importance of reducing the number of situations in which corruption is most likely to turn into corruption.