Further education, whether at the university level or as professional ethics training, is thought to curb corruption, but it doesn’t always work. Social psychologists M. Urcia and A. Alva, behavioral economist V. Vivas, and accountant A. Espinosa from three Peruvian universities teamed up to review and test theories of why some highly educated individuals tolerate unethical practices and rationalize corrupt acts. Their research is localized to Peru and generalized to Latin America, but the effects of corruption they outline are universal.
Their 2026 study, “Psychosocial factors associated with corrupt intentions among educated citizens,” assesses 250 Peruvian university students and graduates for associations between political ideology, cynicism, personality, perceptions of ethics norms and political systems, and how these factors influence the response to corruption. They explain that Peruvian university students and graduates understand corruption as a systemic phenomenon that involves citizens through daily practices at a structural, cultural, and direct level.
Their research supports recent findings that personality type and ideology influence perceptions of norms and political systems, leading to cognitive assessments that drive the intent to either tolerate, commit, or fight corruption. They describe the individuals most likely to tolerate or fight corruption, and the societal outcomes of their actions. They note that voluntary compliance with ethical norms relies on perceiving those norms as legitimate and fair. They find one ideology and two personality types are the most likely to lead educated individuals away or toward corruption.
Authoritarianism and Corruption
The more authoritarian individuals are, the higher their propensity to engage in corruption due to a low level of moral indignation about corruption that legitimizes secrecy and lack of transparency as a form of political practice to help authoritarian group members feel secure.
Dark Triad Influence
Individuals with antisocial traits characterized by a lack of empathy, Machiavellianism, and subclinical psychopathy, also known as “Dark Triad” personalities, may use weak norms, moral laxity, and political distrust to normalize and justify corrupt intentions.
When authoritarians, Machiavellians, or subclinical psychopaths perceive that norms are deficient, they create informal or alternative norms or systematically transgress, but do not eliminate norms. They take advantage of deficient and corrupt political systems to achieve private aims. The resulting social practices demoralize citizens and society. The inequity and injustice arising from the malfunctioning normative system become rationalized as a means of survival in a corrupt environment. Political cynicism arises when the political system is dishonest, immoral, weak, inefficient, unfair, corrupt, limits citizen involvement, fails to represent citizens, is rife with scandals, or violent, and depending on media treatment of these issues, causes widespread distrust. When individuals see low compliance with rules and norms, weak norms, and have low control in their environment, honesty is damaged, and dishonesty becomes positively valued.
Alternative Norms
Alternative norms usually take the form of nepotism and clientelism, a political social system based on an unequal, reciprocal exchange of favors by a powerful figure dispensing benefits—such as government jobs, contracts, or special privilege in exchange for backing, loyalty, or votes.
Alternative norms favor quid-pro-quo, “this for that” transactions in which benefits are distributed based not on public need or merit, but purely as a reward for support. The system often relies on intermediaries or brokers who connect top-level politicians with local voters and involves a relationship where the client depends on the patron’s continued power and discretionary control over resources.
How It Impacts Society
Alternative norms significantly skew public resources, undermine the rule of law, reduce meritocracy, and diminish public assets because policymakers favor their cronies over the public interest. Clientelism involves a longer-term, ongoing relationship and functions across multiple government agencies through prevarication. Prevaricators skirt the core of an issue to deceive, conceal, or buy time, causing delegitimization and distrust in institutions through deliberate deviation from the truth, evasive speaking, dodging direct questions, or using vague and misleading language. This leads to public confusion and misperceptions of the normative system, such that corrupted systems may be perceived as effective and ethical; and well-functioning uncorrupted systems may be perceived as corrupt.
Anti-Corruption Intent
Individuals who hold strong anticorruption intentions perceive norms as unfair or unfulfillable, but believe in the possibility of change, and are confident in institutional reform. Such individuals lose respect for institutional authority when they perceive dysfunction of the justice system, significant systemic ineffectiveness and corruption, and generalized transgression of norms. When they see norms adapting to individual interests, where transgressions are justified because very few controls or sanctions exist, they take on the capacity and responsibility to clean up and improve the political system. This conviction is strengthened by honest, impartial, and trustworthy prosecutors and judiciary. A segment of society characterized by honesty and transparency and in search of change exerts pressure on the political system. However, if this stance of change and intolerance towards corruption is not strong enough, the daily experience with corruption can lead to acceptance of corrupt actions.
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The Protective Effect of Education
Higher education does not invariably prevent corrupt intentions when systems are dysfunctional, and corruption is normalized because everyday exposure to corruption erodes intrinsic honesty and undermines the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies. The researchers conclude that education without system legitimacy may be insufficient to curb corrupt intentions.
They explain that when corruption is systemic or has become normalized, even highly educated individuals are constantly faced with the dilemma of tolerate, accommodate, or resist transgressions.
They suggest that if citizens are made more politically aware of the problem of corruption, they will take a greater interest in public affairs, mete out punishment of corrupt officials, and enforce political accountability. The researchers suggest that promoting sophisticated moral reasoning at university level would strengthen citizen commitment and interest and serve as a tool to monitor and control public officials. This includes strengthening the perception that it is possible to reform the political system to serve citizens and is reinforced by greater citizen exposure to effective anticorruption policies and actions.