Imagine staring at a jail cell wall all day. You didn’t consider yourself a bad person. So where did you go wrong? This is the daily life of many inmates. “Psychology of Fraud: Why Good People do Bad Things.”(2012) By Chana Joffe-Walt and Alix Spiegel finds connections in fraudster Toby grove’s life that can be traced to a series of mishaps based in unethical practices. They suggest that Toby may have been blind to the potential choices. Research suggests there are other factors, other than character, contributing to the decision making process that may hinder the subject’s ability to choose ethically.
When Toby returned home he was told that his brother had been arrested for fraud. This revelation motivated him to seek moral superiority, promising …show more content…
When Toby’s business took a hit he decided to falsify loans. This takes a special skillsets Toby didn’t possess. So he decided to turn to his employees, whom were all more than willing to help. After successfully getting his employees on board he set his sight on an outside title company. Armed with the same proposal he pitched to his employees that went ‘’Here is what happened. Here is the only way I know to fix it, and if you help me, great. If you won't, I understand.’’ The outside company followed Toby’s plans without hesitation. Their arrogance even led to a title company president being thrown in …show more content…
A big explanation for why people commit fraud would obviously be the money but it may be even deeper than that. Researchers and economist suggest that empathy has a big part in fraud. We may help someone because we like them or identify with them. A study was done at Washington University on emission testers that were “illicitly” letting failed cars pass. The study shows that high-end cars such as BMWs failed more often than average-end cars like Honda civics. This has to do with the fact that emission testers earn an average salary, so they probably can only afford an average car. This causes them to identify with the average car owner. This in turn depreciates the value of the consequence. Now they are left to choose between the potential benefits of helping a fellow man versus the negative consequences of polluting the environment. This can be more than our brains were meant to handle. It can even cause problems in unprepared environments such as work .Some regulations could use major adjustments to help prevent unethical behavior. There are some ideas taking place such as to switch auditors every couple of years. This eliminates unknowingly misrepresenting their client’s audits. There are even ideas to begin contracts with statement’s that induce the right state of mind.
Although this wasn’t an excuse for Toby’s actions, it does stand to clarify what may have been going on during his decision making process. That process led Toby
When Toby returned home he was told that his brother had been arrested for fraud. This revelation motivated him to seek moral superiority, promising …show more content…
When Toby’s business took a hit he decided to falsify loans. This takes a special skillsets Toby didn’t possess. So he decided to turn to his employees, whom were all more than willing to help. After successfully getting his employees on board he set his sight on an outside title company. Armed with the same proposal he pitched to his employees that went ‘’Here is what happened. Here is the only way I know to fix it, and if you help me, great. If you won't, I understand.’’ The outside company followed Toby’s plans without hesitation. Their arrogance even led to a title company president being thrown in …show more content…
A big explanation for why people commit fraud would obviously be the money but it may be even deeper than that. Researchers and economist suggest that empathy has a big part in fraud. We may help someone because we like them or identify with them. A study was done at Washington University on emission testers that were “illicitly” letting failed cars pass. The study shows that high-end cars such as BMWs failed more often than average-end cars like Honda civics. This has to do with the fact that emission testers earn an average salary, so they probably can only afford an average car. This causes them to identify with the average car owner. This in turn depreciates the value of the consequence. Now they are left to choose between the potential benefits of helping a fellow man versus the negative consequences of polluting the environment. This can be more than our brains were meant to handle. It can even cause problems in unprepared environments such as work .Some regulations could use major adjustments to help prevent unethical behavior. There are some ideas taking place such as to switch auditors every couple of years. This eliminates unknowingly misrepresenting their client’s audits. There are even ideas to begin contracts with statement’s that induce the right state of mind.
Although this wasn’t an excuse for Toby’s actions, it does stand to clarify what may have been going on during his decision making process. That process led Toby