Boffins prove: PRs ethical after al

I picked up this piece of research in Science Daily that calls into question the stereotype of PRs being experts in leaving principles at the front door.

Researchers at the Arthur W Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication (really? such a place exists?) at Penn State University put various professions to the test.

Respondents got a questionnaire – a series of moral dilemmas – and were tested for ethical reasoning in business concerns, internal motives, truth and respect, religious influences and external influences.

And what do you know, PRs scored as well as journalists, dental students and nurses. They also scored better than orthopedic surgeons, accounting students and “business professionals” (kind of a catch all term).

Bottom of the pile were junior high school students, just below prison inmates. Seminarians and philosophers were top, which goes to show that a divinity degree seems to have its uses.

Image – Amy Kearns