The Pressure to Cheat 557.1
What’s causing the growing hole in our moral ozone? Why is cheating and lying so common in schools, on the sports field, and in business and politics? Apparently it’s a thing called pressure.
Kids are under pressure to get into college, athletes and coaches are under pressure to win, and according to a 2006 survey by the American Management Association, the pressure to meet business objectives and deadlines is the leading cause of unethical corporate behavior. The desires to further one’s career and to protect one's livelihood are the second and third reasons people lie or cheat.
In other words, people take ethical shortcuts to get what they want. DUH!
Why are we so willing to shift responsibility for every form of human weakness from the individual to the system? We don’t blame the liar; we blame the law. We don’t blame the cheater; we blame the test.
The implication is: We can’t expect people to be ethical when personal interest is at stake.
Please!
What we call pressures today used to be called temptations, and everyone knew a test of our character was our ability to resist temptations. Calling temptations pressures doesn’t change anything.
We must believe in and expect integrity and moral courage and not surrender when our principles are challenged. We need to expect good people to do what’s right, even when it’s difficult or costly.
Yes, lots of people act dishonorably in the face of pressure. But pressure is an explanation, not a justification. Pressures, temptations -- call them what you will -- are part of life. Sure, it would be helpful if we had less pressure, but it’s far more important that we have more character.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Comments
Although my comment does not address this commentary, I do want to comment about the author Seltzer about whom you commented on KNX this past week. What is your feeling and comment about the sister who alerted the media about the fraud perpetrated by Margaret Seltzer.
Posted by: Edward Provenzano | March 8, 2008 8:01 AM
As a recent subscriber, I thought you might find the current situation at State Farm Insurance relevant. Go to www.finra.org and review press releases.
Posted by: Joseph Korwasky | March 11, 2008 9:44 AM
Using pressure as an excuse is just another cop out for people who want to take the easy road. It should really be called laziness. Lots of people fail even when they try thier hardest. And, it's possible to be proud of yourself if you fail, as long as you do your best and do it honestly. There may be pressures everywhere but we only "put them" on ourselves. While I strive for success, I'm much more comfortable with integrity.
Posted by: John Russel | March 13, 2008 9:38 PM
Looked at the press release in the prior post. It appears some employees cheated on continuing education requirements. The scheme was uncovered by a State Farm internal investigation and the findings turned over to FINRA. Glad to see the company did not sweep this under the rug
Posted by: John | March 14, 2008 5:57 AM
The pressure to succeed is greater than it used to be back when pressure was called temptation.
There is more socioeconomic stratification now than before, fewer 'haves' and more 'have-nots'. This results in more pressure to skirt the rules, to gain or maintain one's position as a 'have' as opposed to being sucked in to the misery and treachery of bing a member of the permanent underclass.
I agree with you that this is not justification for cheating, but I submit that it is a reason why it seems to happen with ever-greater frequency.
Posted by: Serginho | March 14, 2008 10:38 AM
I disagree with Serginho. I think the reason that it's greater is that society as a whole has become less concerned with issues of character than back when it was called temptations. Reputations used to matter more. With so many people lying, cheating, and stealing on the news and getting away with it, people have become blase to it. Relaxing one's own morals has lead to the increase.
Posted by: Tom | March 14, 2008 2:12 PM
Michael,
Teens these days don't commit suicide over "temptation." It's about pressure to succeed.
Yes, there still are temptations to get ahead, and people that lightly cheat, and that's wrong. No excuses.
But shouting "Character counts!" too righteously to some teens when suicide is one of their top killers seems callous.
And one of the reasons they kill themselves is being sad or hopeless about the future. Not temptation, but hopelessness.
I love your work and inspiration to young adults, Mr. Josephson. I hope you'll consider and maybe research how issues like pressure, suicide, and "character" are related.
Maybe some kids really do deserve a break before we too quickly judge why they sometimes make certain ethical decisions.
Posted by: ChrisK | March 18, 2008 6:51 AM
I just wanted to respond to Tom.
I think the kids you refer to feel a sense of hopelessness becuase as a society we have placed more value on "getting ahead" than we do on "being a good person". Having a BMW is more important than doing the right thing. So of course these kids are hopeless because that bar to get more "stuff" keeps going up, and they are afraid they can't live up to the expectations that "society" and their parents put on them.
Think about this, do you think that as a good parent you should expect your kids to be more successful than you are? If so, what kind of preasure do you think that puts on them?
On the other hand, if you expected your kids to simply be a better person than you are, what kind of preasure would that put on them?
So maybe kids should get a break, from a society and from parents, who keep raising the bar ...
Posted by: Joerg Hallbauer | March 25, 2008 7:50 PM