Running head: WHY DO PEOPLE BREAK RULES?

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Why Do People Break Rules
SP102 Introduction to Psychology 2
1001232866
1001232750
1001232548
UCSI University


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Introduction
The topic of our discussion is what causes people to break rules or laws. There are many
types of rule breaking. It can be from little petty crimes such as lying, pickpocketing, jaywalking,
cheating in exams to much more serious rule breaking such as murder, conning, raping, and
manslaughter and so on. The topic on why people break rules is very wide. There are several
factors why people break rules. The factors come from personality traits, motivations,
psychological disorders, social factors and moral development as well. The solution for stopping
people breaking rules varies and it depends on the individual, therefore, we only focus on the
causes which influence people to break rules.
The theories we have included are Kohlbergs development theory from chapter 9: life
span development, incentive theory and arousal theory from chapter 10: motivation and emotion,
and Freudians psychoanalytic theory from chapter 11: personality. The findings to support our
theories are the story of Martin Luther King, the study on cheating in exam, research on speeding
and the case of Kenneth Bianchi respectively.
Furthermore, our purpose of doing this discussion is to identify whether nature or nurture,
or both nature and nurture influences people to break rules.

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Discussion
Martin Luther King Jr., an African- American was born in Atlanta, Georgia on 15
th
of
January 1929. He is the son of a pastor of a church in Atlanta and his father, King Sr. hated the
laws of segregation as the white people and black people were separated. The African Americans
are not allowed to be at white peoples school, cinema, parking lots, recreational parks and
dinning places. As Martin was growing up, he witnessed the way his father reacted to the laws of
segregation. For example, his father told him that he will not accept the ways of the segregation
no matter how long he lives. King Sr. was a fighter and Martin looked up to him.
For Martin, the whole system was unjust and stupid. That is why he hated the segregation
while growing up. Even more, he despised the violence that came out of segregation by the fact
that if any African American violated the system, they would be killed or battered by the white
people. Because of these things, it almost made Martin to oppose all of the white people.
Martin was a very intelligent and bright student. He got into a college at age 15. At that
time he was not sure what he wanted to be or do but he knew deep down he really wanted to help
his people. During his college years, he read a book about Henry David Thoreaus belief that a
man can disobey a certain rule or law if the rule or law is unfair or evil. Later he heard about
Mahatma Gandhis support on Thoreaus belief that people have the rights to not follow unjust
laws and the speech on nonviolence protest against the British. That is where Martin got the idea
to lead a nonviolence protest and start a civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is a public,
nonviolent and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change
in laws or government policies.

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What causes Martin to do all these was his sympathy and care for his people, the African
Americans. The theory we used here is Kohlbergs moral development. There are three levels,
preconventional level, conventional level and post conventional level, which consists of two
stages each in this theory. However, we are only emphasizing on post conventional level: stage 5
of social contract and individual rights and stage 6 of universal principles.
According to Colby and Kohlberg (1983), at stage 5, people started to think in a more
theoretical way about the society, taking a step back from their society and ponder about the
rights and morals a society should sustain. Those people also believe that a good society is best
described as a social contract into which people freely enter to work toward the benefit of all.
They are able to determine the difference of social groups within a society which have different
values, but they are convinced that all rational people would acknowledge on two points which
are basic rights like liberty and life to be protected and democratic steps for changing unjust law
and improving the society. People in stage 5 also discuss about the rights and morality in some
laws. However, Kohlberg emphasize that we do not judge people to be at stage 5 merely from
their oral labeling but also look at their social aspect and their manner of reasoning.
As for stage 6, Kohlberg's comprehension of justice follows the great morality work of
Gandhi and Martin Luther King. According to these people, the principles of justice need us to
treat the claims of all parties in an impartial manner, respecting the basic dignity, of all people as
individuals. The principles of justice are therefore universal; they apply to all. Thus, for example,
no one will vote for a law that helps some people but hurts others. The principles of justice lead
us toward decisions making based on equal and balanced respect for all.
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Theoretically, one issue that differentiates stage 5 and stage 6 is civil disobedience. Stage
5 would be more hesitant and reluctant to authorize civil disobedience because of its obligation
to the social contract and to alter the laws through democratic agreements. The violation of the
law will only be justified when the rights of an individual is at stake. At stage 6, in contrast, a
commitment to justice makes the rationale for civil disobedience stronger and broader. Martin
Luther King argued that laws are only valid as long as they stick to justice, and that a
commitment to justice carries with it an accountability to disobey unjust laws. He also saw the
need for laws and democratic processes (stages 4 and 5), and thus, he was willing to accept the
consequences for his actions. Nevertheless, he believed that civil disobedience is needed in
higher principle of justice (Kohlberg, 1981). This theory used is an example of nurture factor.
Martin acted this way because it depends on how the society molds your morality perception.
Moreover, Gandhi was a reference to Martin when he opts for Gandhis method.
The intention for breaking rules can varies depending on the individual. Is cheating in
exams or plagiarisms is an action of breaking rules? Cheating in examinations and plagiarism is
considered as an academic rules breakdown. According to the research that has been done by
Donald McCabe of Rutgers University , the result shows that many students, about 62 percent of
them admitted cheating in examinations due to many internal and external reasons. The internal
and external reason given by the students are poor time management, lack of preparation and fear
of failure. Also, according to the researcher, students are keen on cheating in the examinations
and plagiarizing in assignments because they felt unpleasant with the academic system which is
brought by the university and the student did not make attempt to take college life seriously
(Ghani, 2012).
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As the discussion on cheating in examinations and plagiarism goes on, questions on how
students are motivated to cheat in examinations and plagiarizing still remain as a question. What
is motivation? Motivation is a set of factors which activate, direct and maintain behavior, most
probably towards some goal. In Psychological view, motivation is referred as a subjective feeling
which consist of arousal (heart pounding), cognitions (thoughts, values and expectations), and
expressive behaviors such as smile and so on (Huffman, 2006).
The relevant motivation theory that can be related to why students are cheating in
examinations will most probably be on psychosocial theories. Psychosocial theories consist of
both incentive theory and cognitive theories. The most appropriate psychological theory to
discuss on the cheating in exams and plagiarism is incentive theory. Environmental factors often
motivate people to do something that they like or dislike. Incentive theory refers to the pull of
environment which leads people to work towards the desirable or undesirable goal. On the other
hand, the question still remains unanswered on how this theory is related to why students are
cheating in exams. The external factors such as a desire to excel in academics in a short cut route
is the one of the reason why students are pulled to cheat in examination. There are also other
factors mentioned in the research, for example, the environment. The college environment which
creates an unpleasant feeling to college students leads them to have lack interest in studies and
eventually it lead to cheating in the exam and plagiarizing in assignments. Besides, there is also
another reason which drives students to cheat in examinations, for example, friends or peers.
Mostly, when a student is in college, he or she will be spending most of their time with their
college friends, especially for those students who are in off campus, eventually they will be
influenced by their friends behavior. For instance, the behavior of their friends who is cheating
in exams will also influence them to do so. Therefore, Incentive theory is applicable for these
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situations whereby students tend to cheat in examination. This theory is a factor of the nurture in
which environments influenced their doings.
Besides those rule breakings situations that we have mentioned, breaking the traffic rules
is also considered as one of the examples of rule breaking. There are many types of breaking
traffic rules, such as speeding, drunk driving, running a red light, tailgating, talking while
driving, ignorance of safety belts or helmets, failure to signal others while changing lanes, do not
give way for pedestrians and so on. However in this discussion, we will be discussing about
speeding and the causes of it based on a research.
Driving is defined as a skill-based, socially regulated, expressive activity which involves
the ability to not lost control and the capability of ones balancing with time negotiation
(Stradling, 2010). According to Stradlings (2010) research, there are two types of drivers which
can be categorized as low risk drivers and high risk drivers. Most of the low risk drivers come
from the older age group of people. This group of drivers will follow the speed limits and they
are much more experienced in their driving skills compared to the younger generations who are
from the group of high risk drivers. This group of high risk drivers is prone to accidents as they
lack of experience, immature and does not obey the speed limit rule. They are mostly males
according to his research.
So what causes this group of people to speed? Some of them feel like they can violate
the laws of traffic as there are no speed cameras on the road. Some think that they can speed
because they were pressured to. They speeded because they wanted to be on time, having
schedule pressures and so on. But most of all, they speeded because they think it feels good.
With this finding, we could relate their good feeling to arousal theory.
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Arousal theory comes from one of the biological theories which is part of the nature
factors. According to Huffman (2006), organisms are motivated to achieve and maintain a
balanced level of arousal and according to Lee (1996), little stimulation of arousal will make
them very bored while too much stimulation will bring them anxiety and from there it would lead
to sensation or thrill seeking. In other words, thrill seekers are more biologically and
environmentally prone to involve themselves in dangerous activities (Lee, 1996). Because of the
feeling of euphoria when speeding, this high risk group of drivers might be addicted to the thrill
sensation and causes them to speed. Moreover, the idea of getting away or not being caught for
their actions on the road serves as a thrill for them to keep violating the speed limits.
Based on the Kenneth Bianchis finding, he was a serial killer who was born in
Rochester, New York, Bianchi. He was adopted at birth and his natural mother was an alcoholic
prostitute. He had a love-hate relationship with women since young. Kenneth Bianchi was went
on a killing spree between October 1977 and January 1978 with his cousin, Angelo Buono, 15
victims had been raped and murdered in Los Angeles. They are The Hillside Strangler because
they normally left the dead bodies on the hillsides, where the area of Glendale Highland Park.
They begin with the targeted prostitutes move on to middle-class girls.
In 1975, Bianchi moved on to Los Angeles and lived with his cousin, Angelo Buono. He
then had a child with his girlfriend, Kelli Boyd. He was set up a psychology practice with a
phony degree and he told Boyd that he was dying of cancer. Not much longer, he teamed up with
Buono for a spree of kidnappings, rapes and murders. Of the four month rampage, Buono and
Bianchi injecting the victims with deadly household chemicals and create an inflicted
unspeakable horrors on them. In October 1979, police had captured Bianchi in Bellingham,
Washington, and Buono was arrested soon after. Bianchi was fabricated an insanity defense on
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his trial, which was one of the longest trial in American legal history. At the end, he and Buono
were sentenced to prison for the rest of life.
Ken Bianchi had an antisocial personality disorder. The term antisocial personality is
identical with the terms of sociopath and psychopath (Huffman, 2006). It is so far labels as the
behavior out of the usual ethical and legal standards in society and it is consider the most serious
kind of mental disorders among the all. The maladaptive traits of antisocial personality disorder
generally bring a meaning of considerably harm and suffering towards other. There are four
characteristics that Bianchi had, which are egocentrism, lack of conscience, impulsive behavior,
and superficial charm (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Abnormalities in development
of the nervous system is one of the theory suggested that will cause antisocial personality
disorder. Abnormal nervous system development including learning disorders, insistent
bedwetting and hyperactivity are the suggested abnormalities. Another theory that suggests
people with antisocial personality disorder require a normal brain functions with a greater
sensory input. The certain brain measures prove the theory by the evidence of antisocial people
have low resting pulse rates, skin conductance low, and show a decreased amplitude. Abnormal
brain function is also one of the causes of antisocial behavior, the neurotransmitter- serotonin has
been linked between impulsive and aggressive behavior. ( Black.D, 2012 ). Social and home
environment is also one of the factors to develop antisocial behavior. Parents of troubled
children, such as the more often alcoholic or criminal, their homes were always disrupted by
divorce, being apart or the absence of any of the parent, in a large study, tend to have a high level
of antisocial behavior in themselves.
Kenneth Bianchi had experienced the problem of insistent bedwetting when he was 9
years old, and he then develops an impulsive behavior at 12 years old as he likes to pull the
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younger girls pants down. At the age of 26, he begins his rampage with his cousin, Angelo
Buono, raped and strangled 15 victims. It shows that he has an impulsive behavior and the trait
of lack of conscience which are the symbol of antisocial personality disorder that eventually
leads to rule breaking.
One of the theories we use on the case of rule breaking by Bianchi was the Freuds
Psychoanalytic theory which brought by Freud and proposed that personality was actually
composed of three kind of mental structures, which are id, ego and superego. Kenneth Bianchi
was in a conflict between id and superego. According to Freud, the id is made up of all the
biological inherited components, including instincts and urges. The id is the directly and
immediately instincts response by the impulsive or unconscious part of our psyche. The newborn
childs personality is all id and later then it develops to ego and superego. The id seeks
immediate satisfaction and gratification to avoid tension or pain and it is not influenced by
reality, logic or the everyday world. The id operates according to pleasure principle by Freud
which is the immediate and uninhibited seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of discomfort
regardless of the consequences (McLeod, S.A.2008).
The superego is function to control the ids impulse; it is a set of ethical standards or
rules for behavior that set primarily in the preconscious and unconscious state. It is included
parental and societal standards for morality principle, feeling guilty of violating law. (McLeod,
S.A.2008)
When the id is dominated over superego, it creates a trait somewhat like Bianchi,
he was egocentric, evil kind, and no guilt by doing murder. He seeks pleasure, he cheated on
spouses and people, and he was then avoiding pain by lie about his behavior, due to what often
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the id urges will do. Whereas when the superego was absent on Bianchi, he was not feeling any
guilt of violating the law as he done a spree of raped and murdered in 15 of the victims. Bianchi
was doing things immaturely, impulsively, and irrationally. He even faked his multiple
personality disorder and hypnotism by others by trying to escape the prisons life. It shows that
the only existence of the id on Bianchi, without superego, leads Bianchi to develop an antisocial
personality thus bring a result of break and against the rule again and again.

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