THE LAW SAYS CORPORATIONS ARE PERSONS, BUT PSYCHOLOGY KNOWS BETTER

Psychologists interested in law and public policy have begun to examin e the nature of corporations in American society and the serious conse quences of corporate irresponsibility. The dominant trend identifies a reas where corporate behavior falls short of ethical standards or lead s to unacceptably risky decisions and suggests ways to reform corporat ions or the laws that regulate them. This well-intentioned approach is consistent with psychology's liberal reformist tendency. Unfortunatel y, it neither challenges the flawed psychological underpinnings of the legal fiction that corporations are legal persons nor compensates suf ficiently for the dynamics of individual behavior in corporate setting s. Instead, psychologists should advocate fundamental restructuring of our corporate society.