I do wonder sometimes if psychological findings can lead people to exclusively blame their genes, environment, parents etc for their own behavior. The ‘blame culture’ is blamed (yes I know ‘irony’) for people not taking their own free will in to account (or believing they have any). It seems that being influenced by the idea that we have little free will; that our behavior is largely determined by factors beyond our control can lead people to cheat more-see this Morality under threat as science debunks our sense of free will article

Psychological research should enable us to see ourselves more clearly and therefore have more free will as I suggest in ‘Getting to know you’ We are all much more suggestible than we might like to think but research shows that people who are taught the concept of bystander apathy for instance thereby gain a measure of self understanding and are more likely to take responsibility in situations where strangers may need their help.

We are suggestible and shaped and molded by our past experiences and current environment but we also have the capacity, I think, to understand that and still exercise free choice and will and thereby take personal responsibility for ourselves.

Mark