Corruption: Its Representations and Psychology in Indonesia

Abstract

Corruption has undermined the sense of justice of the society in various parts of the world, and it has to be admitted that corruption involves contested meanings. The problem is that there is no study about the meaning of corruption for Indonesians. Often the understanding of the community about "corruption" is simply assumed because we have law and regulations regarding this practice. This study aimed to show social representations of corruption, by digging answer to the main question, "If you hear the word 'corruption', what comes first to your mind?" This study was conducted throughout the year 2013-2015, involving people of the four provinces, namely West Kalimantan, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, and Jakarta, with a total of 2,104 samples that were recruited through convenience sampling technique. Results of this study showed that the most fundamental meanings in society are (1) Related to others; (2) Stealing; (3) Self-interest; (4) An action; and (5) Country. This study contributes to the literature of psychology corruption and could be transformed into a psycho-social intervention to create a society that is free from corruption.

Keywords: psychology of corruption, representation, stealing, meaning, self