ABSTRACT
Individual differences are probably important in explaining some of this behavior, but the most compelling explanation for the persistence of misbehavior is that important groups support and encourage this behavior. Large-scale misbehavior, ranging from fraud to war crimes, often requires large-scale organization, and commitment and loyalty to a sick or corrupt organization can have tragic consequences. In a similar way, devotion to a cause or a movement can motivate noble behaviors and laudable outcomes, but this same devotion can lead people to tolerate and engage in serious crimes and misbehaviors. One of the challenges facing organizational psychologists is to help organizations, movements, and causes that have gone wrong to rebuild and reform, and this has turned out to be a significant challenge. Informal groups and organizations are an important part of the glue that holds society together, and they play an important role in developing and supporting prosocial as well as antisocial behaviors.
