Abstract
This paper takes us beyond the unethical act and explores the use of moral disengagement as a multi-stage, multi-functional regulatory, and coping mechanism that not only allows individuals to engage in unethical behavior, but also manage the negative emotions (i.e., guilt and shame) from learning the consequences of such behavior. A resource-based lens is applied to the moral disengagement process, suggesting that individuals not only morally disengage prior to committing an unethical act in order to conserve their own resources, but also morally disengage as a coping mechanism to reduce emotional duress upon learning of the consequences of their actions, which we describe as post-moral disengagement. These assertions are tested using a scenario-based laboratory study consisting of 182 respondents. Findings indicate that individuals will morally disengage in order to commit an unethical act, will experience negative emotions from having learned of the consequences, and then will engage in post-moral disengagement as a coping mechanism. In addition, the findings suggest that guilt and shame relate differently to moral disengagement.
Highlights
By and large, most moral individuals have an innate desire to do what is right (Gentile, 2010)
Results from a MANOVA in which guilt and shame at time 1 served as the dependent variables and the experimental condition served as the independent variable revealed a significant overall omnibus F-test (Wilks’ Lambda F = 10.45, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.15)
Given that Hypothesis 2 was supported, we investigated whether individuals will engage in post-moral disengagement in order to manage the negative emotions felt
Summary
Most moral individuals have an innate desire to do what is right (Gentile, 2010). Ethical decision-making, in its most basic form, involves a series of costbenefit analyses, such that when faced with a moral dilemma, individuals are motivated to compare the costs of violating moral standards with the perceived benefits of adhering to such standards. Often times the costs associated with the decision’s negative return for perpetrators and those affected by their actions are not fully considered. Given that all actions generate consequences, whether they are large or small, positive or negative, individuals are likely to experience additional emotional discomfort after learning about the consequences resulting from their unethical act. Extant research has explored the emotions present at the decision-making time, the anticipated emotional responses of engaging in an unethical act, and the emotional outcomes
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