The answer is values
Values can be described as ''relatively permanent and deeply held underlying beliefs and attitudes that help determine a person's behavior''
The belief of not taking a bribe, not hurting someone, not cheating, conducting business properly etc are some examples of the kind of values people hold and how they can define their behavior throughout their life.
However, values do not always have to be good. In the 18th Century most of the United States' population held a value belief system that maintained black people as slaves.
