Psychology Commons^™

Ethics Position Theory And Unethical Work Behavior, Donelson R. Forsyth, Ernest H. O'Boyle Jr.

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This chapter explores these psychological interpersonal consequences of unethical work behavior, but focuses on who reacts most negatively to such indiscrestions and why. We base our analysis on ethics positions theory (EPT), which suggests that people's reactions in morally toned situations can be traced to variations in their intuitive, personal moral philosophies (Forsyth, 1980). After summarizing the theory and its basic assumptions, we examine the relationship between these variations in moral philosophies and well-being, focusing on the way people respond, psychologically and emotionally, when they act in morally evaluable ways. We then shift the analysis up to the group level …