The ‘Psychology of impunity:
Have you observed how traffic regulations evaporate the instant the traffic controller leaves the traffic junction? Or how swiftly the social fabric falls apart the moment a society considers its law enforcement to be feeble and unconcerned?
It‘s a remarkable aspect of human nature that when individuals think no one is watching, their regard for rules and often the most fundamental principles of ethics disappears.
This naturally leads us to an essential question of human psychology and sociology: why do individuals commit immoral acts when they believe no consequences can be inflicted upon them?
1. The Impunity Complex and the Temptation of Power
Central to rule-breaking is the Impunity Complex: the notion that one‘s behavior has no adverse outcomes.
Prized words of 19 century historian and politician Lord Acton: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” seems as relevant as ever. Power is not necessarily the highest position in politics, but the knowledge that nobody is watching.
When someone discovers there is no authority to check them, a false sense of superiority accumulates. As there is no penalty for restraint, and what would need restraining feels unnecessary. Small infractions, such as cutting queues or double parking expand into a grave breach of morality because there is no redress.
2. Social Conformity and the “Broken Windows” Effect
The Broken Windows Theory for explaining how disorder in a city breeds crime was popularized by sociologists George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson. If an individual window is broken and left unrepaired, pedestrians passing by assume that nobody cares and nobody is in charge. Eventually all the windows are broken.
The same principle governs social behavior:
Social proof - We naturally look to our fellow human beings for cues as to what is acceptable behavior. As future offenders observe other offenders breaking the law right in front of them with no preventative or punitive consequences, the brain, effectively, is saying there is a change in social normality,
The ‘Why Me?’ Fallacy: As soon as lawlessness becomes apparent, those who do right have to look like idiots. They think, “everyone else is cheating and winning, so why shouldn‘t I?”
Therefore a failure of law enforcement doesn‘t only provide an incentive for criminals to break the law, but also to law-abiding citizens not to do so.
3. The Dual Compass: External Fear vs. Internal Morality
What makes some individuals behave like angels, refraining from running red lights at 3:00 AM on deserted highways, while others act like devils, even in broad daylight? It‘s because of where each person‘s moral anchor is fixed.
Psychologists divide behavioral control into two distinct mechanisms:
HUMAN MORAL CONTROLS
Significance: Where is the significance in this? The money is thrown to the bag on the right, because otherwise it would hit the glass on the left.
EXTERNAL CONTROLS and INTERNAL CONTROLS
Effort-directed If there is uncertainty about the outcomes of actions and the goal is most efficiently achieved by choosing among multiple options, the search is effort-directed. In other words, the learner tries to determine which response is currently the most rewarding.
As society leans almost entirely on external forms of regulation, civic behavior is essentially transactional. As soon as cameras shut down or the law breaks down, the external barrier disappears. For the individual whose compass rests solely on the fear of being caught, there is nothing left.
4. The Path of Least Resistance
The human default state of affairs is the pursuit of self-interest and the conserve of energy. Psychologists refer to this as the Path of Least Resistance.
Rules and laws are there specifically to limit self-interest so that society can work as fairly as possible. To contain this selfishness involves conscious brain power and willpower. When the border enforcement goes to zero, self-interest will subjugate duty in an instant, making immoral choices appear to be the ‘easier’ or the ‘more intelligent’ path.
Rebalancing: What We Need to Do to Fix It.
Reversing a culture of impunity requires a two-pronged strategy:
Consistent enforcement of the law: Justice cannot be about severity. no matter how cruel his rule, a ruler‘s power is dependent on the certainty of consequence. When people have no illusion that the rule of law is followed without fear or favour, as and when deemed necessary.
Creating Internal Accountability: Long-term, sustainable development. When there is early creation of values of civic responsibility in the family, schools and in the general culture, society prospers. Culture blossoms when rules are respected not because there is a rod in the closet, but because there is a social contract to respect.
Final Thoughts
All people conduct themselves in a certain way when sitting in a crowded room with heavy supervision; the real indicator of one‘s integrity is how they conduct themselves when they are sure no one else is looking.
When law enforcement breaks down the social outer rails are lost. When a person develops a robust internal moral compass the victim is upright even in darkness.
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