Does today's society lack integrity? I think older generations could often provide good role models.

By: Dr Ros Altmann
27 Jan 2012 at 10:58

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According to research by academics at the University of Essex the UK is fast approaching an ‘integrity crisis’ where dishonesty is becoming the norm and honesty and integrity are increasingly a thing of the past.

The survey of more than 2,000 adults paints a portrait of a nation that is becoming more relaxed about “low level dishonesty”, an issue that could escalate because the study indicates that young people are reportedly more tolerant of this dishonesty than older people.

People who took part in this survey were asked to what extent a series of 10 activities were justified. These included deceiving your partner, avoiding paying for public transport, keeping money found in the street, throwing litter and lying.

A decade ago, 70% of people said having an affair was never justified, but this dropped to just 50% in 2011. The proportion who said picking up money found in the street was never justified dropped from almost 40% a decade ago to less than 20%, while only one in three condemned lying in their own interests.

However, interestingly, the survey found that Britons of all ages have become less tolerant of benefit cheats, with 78% of people condemning the practice in 2000, compared to 85% in 2011.

The issue of integrity appears to know no social, educational or income bounds, with there being very little variation in the response by most respondents. However, refreshingly there was a significant age factor with older people being much less tolerant of any form of dishonesty. I am certainly not surprised to see this, as traditional values of integrity and trying to tell the truth were often instilled in the older generations at school, at clubs and at home.

So having strong older role models who demonstrate strong integrity could be of great benefit to younger generations in all walks.