Members in the Media
From: Scientific American

Leaping into Corruption

Scientific American:

It is widely accepted that when popular figures descend into corruption, they do so a little at a time. Consider the case of Bernie Madoff, the perpetrator of the largest Ponzi scheme in history. According to some accounts, his far-reaching fraud began with making up a few figures on some client investment reports. Over time, this seemingly minor peccadillo snowballed into a $65 billion swindle.

But is this “slippery slope” view of corruption really accurate? New research published in Psychological Science suggests the answer may be “not always.” Instead, acts of corruption may often emerge all at once: right at the moment a person in power is granted a “golden opportunity.” This has implications for everything from banks to corporations—as well as for the current state of American politics.

Read the whole story: Scientific American

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