Do Moral Disengagers Feel Guilt and Shame? Moral Self-Condemnation Following Immoral Work Behaviors

Abstract

In the past decade, a number of studies have found a consistent, positive link between moral disengagement (Bandura, 1986) and immoral behaviors in the workplace. According to Bandura, this occurs because moral disengagement minimizes one’s anticipation of moral self- condemnation - feelings of guilt and shame that normally arise when one contemplates wrongdoing. Although research shows that moral disengagement is negatively associated with anticipatory guilt, scholars rarely consider its impact on self-condemning moral emotions after wrongdoing. In this paper, we examine the relationship between moral disengagement and experiences of guilt and shame following three types of immoral work behaviors - interpersonal deviance, (low) interpersonal citizenship behaviors (OCBI), and (low) cooperation. Across two studies using mixed methods, we find that moral disengagers experience guilt and shame following interpersonal deviance, (low) cooperation, and objectively measured cheating, but not (low) OCBI. In a third study, we show that moral disengagers exhibit greater psychological distress, turnover intentions, social loafing, and lower task performance as a result of their guilt and shame. We discuss the implications of these findings with respect to advancing moral disengagement and moral emotions theory in organizational scholarship.