Behavior and Socio-Economic Development: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Abstract

Why do people engage in bad behavior? Are people inherently evil? Is human nature inclined towards unethical behavior? Or are the causes of bad behavior external to the self? This paper employs an explanatory research design to provide descriptive explanations as to why people might engage in bad behavior by examining views from different disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, ethics, theology, and economics. The paper finds that people engage in bad behavior due to the duality of human nature, cognitive inefficiencies, psychological tendencies, bounded rationality, and having a poor regulatory focus. In summary, consensus is lacking among scholars within and across disciplines as to what constitutes bad behavior, as well as a lack of consensus as to why people might engage in such behavior – this in turn contributes to a lack of a theoretical framework which properly defines what constitutes bad behavior and how, and whether, it is quantifiable.