Integrity can apply to a variety of domains in the community. It can be used to describe both formal and informal relationships. Below are examples of integrity.
Integrity in Personal Relationships
Much like integrity in other types of relationships, integrity in personal relationships is characterized by treating others with fairness and acting in a consistent manner. Personal relationships of high integrity have honesty, fidelity, and equity. Integrity in personal relationships relies on each person's own integrity. A person has integrity when they stringently and consistently adhere to their own set of values. The benefits of having personal integrity and maintaining integrity in relationships are that it demonstrates one's strength of character and motivates others to trust that individual.
Academic Integrity
Just as in professional and social life, integrity is essential in education. An example of integrity occurs in academia. Academic integrity requires students, teachers, and all members of the academic fraternity to conduct themselves within an established academic code of conduct. The academic code of conduct encompasses values such as discipline, honesty, fairness, respect, and responsibility. A breach of any of the set values is considered academic misconduct. Examples of academic misconduct include plagiarism and bias. Plagiarism, an act of copying someone else's work and submitting it as one's own, portrays dishonesty and a lack of academic integrity. Bias or favoritism, where teachers offer special treatment to specific students, also indicates an absence of integrity on the part of the teachers.
Political Integrity
Politicians are leaders elected to serve the interests of the citizens who elected them. Political integrity means wielding power in a manner that best suits the interest of the public and not using one's position for selfish interests. When in power, people are often tempted to hold down the office by all means and use their position to gain wealth at the expense of their citizens. As leaders, politicians are expected to have integrity. Leaders with political integrity are unlikely to involve themselves in corruption, nepotism, misappropriation or embezzling of public funds, etc. On the contrary, those lacking political integrity are always looking for more opportunities to enrich themselves at the expense of citizens.
Legal Integrity
Legal integrity comes from the Constitution and the rule of law. Legal integrity follows the principles of due process, fairness, and justice. There are rules and regulations that everybody involved in the legal practice, i.e., police officers, attorneys, prosecutors, and judges, must abide by in the pursuit of justice. Judges must be fair in all their rulings, just as police officers are expected to execute their duties with integrity. For example, a police officer who arrests an individual without probable cause lacks integrity and is an embarrassment to the legal practice. Other professionals, such as doctors, engineers, and even politicians, must also uphold integrity, as they should be honest, responsible, and accountable in delegating their official duties.
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Since integrity is founded on mutually agreed societal concepts, it is a social construct by virtue. Integrity is a dynamic concept whose meaning changes periodically and contextually due to implicit and explicit philosophical convictions. Despite scholars' and philosophers' efforts to propagate a definite integrity code, there continue to be discussions and conflicts about what is right or wrong and in what situations. It isn't easy to define the integrity criteria since it is rooted in morality and honesty, which are subjective concepts.
Moral integrity requires people to do the right thing all the time. However, what may seem right in a particular context may not necessarily be the right thing to do when weighed against the consequences. For instance, when refereeing a football game, a player slips and handles the ball in the penalty area in trying to regain balance. According to sports rules, the referee is to give a penalty for this. However, giving the penalty might not feel like the right thing to do since the player is penalized for an action they ultimately had no control over. As much as honesty and integrity go hand in hand, there can be instances where the line between the two is blurred.
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Integrity is the quality of having strong moral principles that one uncompromisingly adheres to. Integrity can be defined as doing the right thing all the time and adhering to a code of ethical and moral principles. People who conduct themselves with a great deal of honesty and abstain from deception are said to have integrity. The characteristics of integrity include honesty, responsibility, grace, respect, accountability, hard work, patience, and any other action that describes being honest. Honesty and integrity go hand in hand. One who fails to conform to the moral and ethical code of integrity can be considered wicked. Some traits which are the opposite of integrity are dishonesty, irresponsibility, cheating, disrespect, etc. In every aspect of life, personal or professional, integrity is important. Moral integrity helps people do the right thing even in situations where that may be difficult.
Examples of integrity include academic integrity, legal integrity, and political integrity. Academic, legal, and political integrity are equally important in their respective fields. Police officers, doctors, and politicians are all expected to act with integrity in discharging their duties to society. A breach of any field's set ethical and moral principles is considered misconduct. For example, plagiarism, an act of copying someone else's work and submitting it as one's own, portrays a lack of academic integrity. Since integrity is founded on mutually agreed upon societal concepts, it is by virtue a social construct. However, despite efforts by scholars and philosophers to propagate a definite integrity code, there continue to be discussions and conflicts about what is right or wrong and in what situations. Defining the integrity criteria can be challenging since integrity is rooted in the concepts of morality and honesty, which are subjective.
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Video Transcript
What Is Integrity?
If you're a new student (or can think back to when you were), you probably remember being given some information about your school's academic honesty policies during the first few days of classes. This information likely addressed, among other things, the school's requirements for submitting original work, policies regarding cheating, and expectations of student behavior. In giving you this information, your school wasn't suggesting you'd cheat; rather, they merely wanted to inform you that they expect all students to act with a certain degree of integrity.
Integrity is a term used to describe a person's level of honesty, moral commitments, and willingness to do what's right. For example, we expect our doctors to be honest with us about diagnoses, won't try to prescribe medications we don't need, and will generally work in the best interest of our health and well-being. We expect this because, in most societies, doctors are perceived to be people of great integrity with strong moral compasses.
Conversely, if your doctor didn't have any integrity, he or she might be strongly influenced by drug companies or bribes and might talk you into getting tests or procedures you don't need. When this happens, society takes a dim view of that person—and in some cases legal charges are brought—because he or she was expected to act with integrity.
Academic Integrity
One of the earliest encounters you are likely to have had with integrity (outside of your family) is in an academic environment. Specifically, your teachers and instructors will expect every assignment you turn in to be 100% your own work. This means that you are expected not to plagiarize, which is the copying of someone else's ideas or words that you pass off as your own. In some cases, plagiarism can be unintentional, which is why it's very important that you are certain the words and ideas in your work are completely your own.
In academic contexts and scholarly work, integrity is of tremendous importance. For example, when college professors write books or perform experiments, it is expected that their theories and assertions are backed up by rigorous research for which they provide citations. In cases where it has been discovered that someone has falsified research data or outright lied, that person can face a number of consequences because he or she was expected to work with honesty and integrity.
Political Integrity
Among the most important people we expect to act with integrity are politicians. For example, when politicians are campaigning for public office, they make many promises and claims about what they will do if they are elected. In general, candidates are elected precisely because of these claims, which make their integrity one of the most important characteristics. Unfortunately, though, politicians make a lot of claims on the campaign trail that they don't always follow through on. This calls their integrity into question and seriously weakens their chances of being re-elected.
Legal Integrity
Academics and politics are two major areas where integrity is important, but more than any other, integrity is fundamental to law enforcement and the justice system. Broadly speaking, we all expect that police officers and judges will be impartial and will uphold the law honestly, regardless of a person's race, ethnicity, or other characteristics. Recently, however, the integrity of law enforcement and the justice system has increasingly been called into question.
For example, there has been a growing focus on police brutality and unfair practices in the United States, particularly as they relate to racial and ethnic minorities. For many Americans the allegations are hard to believe or even shocking. This is because they expect law enforcement officers to conduct themselves honestly and adhere to the moral principle that all people are equal in the eyes of the law.
The Complexity of Integrity
In many ways, the idea of integrity, or what it means to act with integrity, can be difficult to pin down in universal terms. This is because integrity is a social construct, which means that it is something that societies and cultures have created, and its meaning can change as society evolves. For example, in the fifteenth century a person defending the practice of burning witches would likely have been seen as having a great deal of integrity, whereas now we would consider such an act reprehensible.
The complexity of integrity is largely related to the fact that it is rooted in shared values and notions of morality, which are not static or universal. In fact, what is and isn't considered moral behavior is very much subjective, which means it depends on individual perspectives and beliefs. Therefore, as concepts of morality and honesty change with societies, so, too, do the criteria for integrity.
Lesson Summary
Let's review. In general, integrity is a word used to describe a person's commitment to honesty and a willingness to do what's right. For example, a person who abstains from cheating, lying, or stealing would be considered to be a person who acts with great integrity. In most societies, integrity is an important aspect of culture and contributes to the strength of a community.
In academic environments, for example, students are expected to avoid plagiarism and submit work that is entirely their own. Other areas where integrity is important include the legal and justice systems and politics. Despite its importance, though, universal definitions or understandings of integrity can be difficult to locate. This is often because the concept of integrity is a social construct, which is subjective and tends to change as societies and cultures evolve.
Quick Facts
- Integrity describes an individual's moral commitments, honesty, and need to do what's right
- Integrity is considered particularly important in academic, political, and legal environments
- Examples of integrity include avoiding plagiarism and police officers conducting themselves in a proper manner
Leaning Outcome
After watching this lesson, you should be able to define integrity and list examples of its importance in different social environments.
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