I had the privilege to hear Dr. Mark Brennan speak about integrity today. Perhaps I should say, he spoke about a lack of integrity, and how permitting even small infractions can lead to an overarching degradation of integrity within an institution. Further, he spoke about how uncompromising adherence to laws and policies can set a tone to build the integrity and consequent reputation of a school, university, or corporation. Perhaps it was the excess amount of caffeine in my system, but this had my mind buzzing all day.
I think, perhaps, that integrity ties closely to conscientiousness as a personality trait, and more importantly to willpower as a strength or ability. One of my favorite lessons in my psychology undergraduate program was the lecture on willpower, and how it can act as a finite resource, but only if you believe this to be the case. This viewpoint has clearly been endorsed most recently by health-food marketing strategists (“One good decision leads to the next…buy our yogurt!”), and it also speaks to the notion that your attitude in life will determine your outcomes to an extent.
I do believe this sort of compounding effect applies to integrity in much the same way in applies to willpower, and I want to extend that beyond the individual. On the small scale, an individual goes through life making a series of decisions, and their reputation (perceived character) will follow as a consequence of these decisions. I believe it follows that an individual who has cultivated a lifetime of integrity will perpetuate it, and I should hope that the same would apply to schools, universities, corporations, and governments. Unfortunately, the inverse is also true.
I was similarly struck by mention of the West Point Cadet Honor Code: “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” It is all to easy to proverbially wash our hands of the wrongdoing of others, but in doing so, we are complicit in their transgression. If we are to break out of the Nash equilibrium as a society, then it is not enough to hold ourselves to the highest standard; we must also hold others to this standard.
Lastly, a personal anecdote and a challenge to you (my only reader, probably). I’m not sure when this started, but I have a barely-sub-clinical compulsion with picking up litter in my path. For all I know, it may have originated as a karmic superstition, but I’ve embraced it in recent years as a small daily reminder to hold myself to the highest standard, leave the world a better place than I find it, avoid shortcuts and the bystander effect, and to compound willpower and integrity. Today, pick up just one piece of litter. I bet you don’t even have to go out of your way to do it.
More on willpower: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/willpower.aspx
Bare Strength 