Researchers report new evidence for the “bad apple” idea: when a small number of people break rules, others may become more likely to do so as well. The work suggests that rule-breaking can influence group behaviour rather than remaining limited to the original offenders.
According to the accounts, the key mechanism is that people adjust their own conduct after observing others commit more or larger violations than they themselves have seen. The Guardian frames this within examples of real-world misconduct, including corruption by public officials and harassment in workplaces, while Phys.org emphasises the general social contagion concept behind the effect. Both sources point to the same central finding: exposure to escalated rule-breaking can drive faster, wider noncompliance across a group.
