Mechanisms Of Moral Disengagement Research Articles

The role of moral disengagement in youth bullying behaviour.

Moral disengagement, a term coined by Bandura, explains how people can hurt others and behave immorally, contradicting their beliefs and values and yet live peaceably with themselves. He developed a conceptual model of moral disengagement based on the Social Cognitive Theory of moral agency. By activating moral disengagement mechanisms, people can disregard their moral standards and behave immorally without any self-censure. This paper synthesises the extensive research on moral disengagement in a youth bullying context to demonstrate the conceptual strength of moral disengagement theory for research and interventions on bullying. It advances the understanding of the contextual basis of moral disengagement by examining its diverse role in bullying episodes that includes bullying perpetration, bullying victimisation and bullying bystanders. The analysis of the different components of moral disengagement representing the loci of the disengagement mechanisms sheds light on how the disengagement processes function in the youth bullying context. Its role as both a moderator and mediator further advances its divergent functioning in the youth bullying context. Finally, implications of the review for advancing knowledge on the moral basis of youth bullying are discussed with suggestions for the development of interventions to attenuate the use of moral disengagement.

Social-cognitive mechanisms of moral disengagement, sex differences and psychological predictors in young populations

The theory of moral disengagement has been useful in explaining disruptive social behavior in young people, showing differences between men and women. However, there are no studies regarding the association of psychological factors, such as impulsivity, self-esteem, anxiety, and moral disengagement. Therefore, we analyzed sex differences and psychological predictors of moral disengagement mechanisms in young people. This was a quantitative, cross-sectional, comparative, and correlational study. The participants were 1,419 young people aged 16 to 30 years (M=20.6, SD=3.32) who answered the moral disengagement mechanisms questionnaire (MMDS), the Barratt impulsivity scale (BIS-11), the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). A Student's t-test showed that men had higher scores on moral disengagement mechanisms and self-esteem, and women had higher scores on anxiety. Moral disengagement mechanisms were found to correlate inversely with self-esteem, but directly with impulsivity and anxiety. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that self-contempt, impulsivity, anxiety, and sex had the highest effects on predicting moral disengagement and mechanisms. These effects were similar in men and women. This study provided important information on the influence of psychological factors not explored in previous studies on the understanding of moral agency in young people. The results offer innovative theoretical explanations in a line of research aimed at linking psychological, clinical, and cognitive-social perspectives, with major implications for psychosocial intervention with young people.

Utilitarian ethics: the impact of the dark tetrad traits and the mechanisms of moral disengagement

Utilitarian ethics: the impact of the dark tetrad traits and the mechanisms of moral disengagement

Should I do this? Incongruence in the face of conflicting moral and role expectations

Moral incongruence—a misalignment between professional role expectations and personal moral values—is an important phenomenon in modern organizations. Though scholarly work has provided us with insights into broad forms of role incongruence, much less is known about the distinct characteristics of moral incongruence. Moreover, we lack understanding of how moral incongruence may shape employee attitudes and behaviors. Drawing on deonance theory and socio-cognitive theory, we develop a model explaining the role of moral incongruence in promoting employee prohibitive voice, withdrawal, and unethical role behavior through the mechanisms of moral outrage and moral disengagement. Examining potential boundary conditions, we also consider the roles of moral identity, self-interest, moral intensity, unethical climate, ethical leadership, and organizational identification. Given the ethical implications of moral incongruence and the significance of the phenomenon for organizations, this work has implications for both theory and practice.

Exploring online deviant behaviour: a study on the impact of internet anonymity on tourists’ exaggerated comments

ABSTRACT The research objectives of this paper are to analyze the role of internet anonymity in customers’ publication of exaggerated online reviews, explore the potential processes of moral disengagement, and study possible moderating and mediating factors. To achieve these objectives, this study conducts a questionnaire survey among 530 internet users and perform regression analysis to test the research model. This test results reveal that internet anonymity has a positive impact on exaggerated online reviews through two moral disengagement mechanisms: advantageous comparison and distorting consequences. Moral identity not only negatively moderates the effect of internet anonymity on advantageous comparison and distorting consequences but also negatively moderates the mediating role of advantageous comparison and distorting consequences between internet anonymity and exaggerated online reviews. This research enriches the findings in the field of fake reviews and value co-destruction in the tourism sector and offers insights for relevant regulatory agencies to improve the online environment.

The Role of Moral Disengagement, Self-Efficacy and Social-Anxiety in Secondary School Teachers’ Prejudice: A Person-Centered Approach

Teachers play a crucial role in fostering inclusive school environments for students from diverse backgrounds. However, harboring prejudiced attitudes towards minority students can have adverse social and psychological effects on these individuals. This study investigates the ethnic and homophobic prejudice profiles of Italian secondary school teachers (N = 552, Mage = 46.15, 76.4% females) using a person-centered approach. It explores how these prejudice profiles predict moral disengagement mechanisms, self-efficacy, and social anxiety among teachers. Participants completed assessments on subtle and blatant ethnic prejudice, attitudes toward the representation of homosexuality, moral disengagement, self-efficacy in teaching, and social anxiety. Latent profile analysis identified three prejudice profiles among teachers: low, moderate, and high prejudice. The results, based on a structural equation model, revealed that teachers with high prejudice profiles were more likely to employ moral disengagement mechanisms and reported higher levels of social anxiety. The study underscores the significance of interventions and monitoring efforts tailored to educators, encompassing their social, moral, and individual dimensions.

Reconceptualizing selective moral disengagement mechanisms as continuums of moral influence: a theoretical expansion

Abstract Mass communication researchers have applied Bandura’s selective moral disengagement (SMD) concept in diverse contexts to explain audiences’ acceptance of moral violations and reduced condemnation. Recent updates to moral psychology—specifically the application of social intuitionist theories—challenge SMD’s underlying assumptions, necessitating a reconceptualization. In this article, we incorporate modern social intuitionist theories of moral judgment into SMD’s underlying assumptions. We further propose a two-stage moral signal detection process consistent with current decision-making theory in order to explain how SMD reflects a modulation of both moral condemnation and moral commendation. Building on these extensions, we reconceptualize SMD’s eight original mechanisms as expanded continuums of moral influence applicable to diverse forms of moral perceptions and moral judgments. This reconceptualization of SMD removes unnecessary boundary conditions, improves the internal consistency of the theory, and can begin to resolve scholarly disagreements. We conclude the article by providing concrete suggestions for future empirical research.

MAPEANDO PESQUISAS NACIONAIS SOBRE DESENGAJAMENTO MORAL NA PERSPECTIVA DA TEORIA SOCIAL COGNITIVA

Moral Disengagement consists in the detachment of moral standards and self-sanctions for committing antisocial and harmful actions to others, without self-condemnation or changes in self-esteem. Based on this concept, it was aimed to obtain a mapping of what was produced on the topic in the Graduate Programs of Brazilian universities over the last ten years (2013-2023). A systematic review was carried out, with a quantitative survey of the studies and their qualitative analysis. The descriptor “moral disengagement” was used to search for theses and dissertations in the CAPES Catalog of Theses and Dissertations, between December 2022 and April 2023. The works were selected, followed by their quantitative and qualitative analysis. Five Doctoral dissertations and 12 Master’s theses were analyzed, defended in ten universities (nine public and one private), mainly from the Southeast and Northeast regions, with emphasis on the State University of Campinas and the Federal University of Maranhão. Studies in the areas of Psychology, Education, Teaching, Administration, Public Security and Scientific and Technological Policy stand out. Data shows more qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and correlational publications. The main topics found were: education, violence, aggression, work, technology. The most cited Moral Disengagement mechanisms were Moral Justification and Victim Blaming. The contributions in the area of Education were related to social aggression, bullying, behavior of helping victims, violence in the school context, racial prejudice in football, helping students and teachers in initial and continuing training to identify, understand, reflect and promote changes in the cognitive mechanisms used in Moral Disengagement.

Association between Callous-Unemotional Traits, Empathy, and Moral Disengagement Mechanisms in Juvenile Offenders

There are few studies that explore the association between cognitive and affective factors according to gender and types of crime in juvenile offenders. This study analyzed the association between callous-unemotional traits, empathy, and moral disengagement mechanisms according to gender differences and criminal typology in 149 adolescents (M = 17.72 years, SD = 1.34) prosecuted by the Criminal Responsibility System (SRPA) and placed in custodial measures. The 81.2% were males and 18.8% were females. This was a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, comparative-correlational study. The Scale of Moral Disengagement Mechanisms, the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index were used. It was found that males presented higher scores in the mechanisms of moral disengagement and uncaring. Females presented higher scores in total empathy and empathic concern. Adolescents with felonies had higher scores on attribution of blame. Moral disengagement mechanisms correlated positively with callous-unemotional traits and personal distress. Empathic concern and perspective taking correlated negatively with moral disengagement. In adolescents with history of felonies, moral disengagement presented stronger associations with callous-unemotional traits. In non-violent offenses, the strongest associations were with uncaring, and in trespassing they were with personal distress. Results are discussed according to empirical evidence and implications for intervention.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Factorial Invariance of the Mechanisms of the Moral Disengagement Scale

The objective of this paper was to analyze the factorial structure, psychometric characteristics, and factorial invariance by sex, age, and city of the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale in young university students. A total of 1,431 young people between the ages of 18 and 30 (M = 20.86, SD = 3.64) from two Colombian cities participated in the study. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test four hypothesized models. The CFA confirmed a first-order factor structure grouping the eight mechanisms of moral disengagement (Model 4), which explained 54.17% of the total variance. The final model obtained a good fit, χ2 = 12.514, RMSEA = .010, TLI = .999, AGFI = .993, CFI = 1.00, ECVI = .044, CMIN/df = 1.138. Factorial invariance by sex, age and city of the final proposed model was confirmed. Moral disengagement mechanisms were negatively correlated with empathy and prosocial tendencies. It is concluded that this scale is valid and reliable to assess moral disengagement in Colombian youth.

Moral disengagement in the media discourses on meat and dairy production systems

Meat and dairy production and consumption are the subject of ongoing public debates that touch on various sustainability issues such as biodiversity loss, climate change, animal welfare, and social and health aspects. Despite extensive discussions specifically relating to the environmental impacts of livestock farming in conjunction with animal welfare aspects, there have been no substantial changes in production or consumption patterns. Moreover, the focus of extant research is usually on consumers' responses to public concerns around livestock production. In this study, we shed light on the discrepancy between the normative discourse and action of relevant value chain actors with the help of Bandura's theory of moral disengagement, which allows us to identify mechanisms that contribute to the perpetuation of unsustainable production and consumption patterns. In particular, we focus on the shifting of responsibility between actors in the normatively charged field of sustainable livestock production. We collected 109 media interviews on meat and dairy production and consumption from the years 2020–2022, including interviews with actors from agriculture, processing industries, and food retail. Using qualitative content analysis, we investigated the role of moral disengagement in the media discourse on meat and dairy production and explored differences between actors in terms of moral disengagement. We found that shifting of responsibility shows a quasi-circular dynamic of being shifted from all actors to all, in our case most frequently to consumers, politics, and (diffuse) economic forces. In addition, our analysis showed the use of social justifications, beneficial comparisons, and euphemistic labelling to be common mechanisms of moral disengagement, constituting a collective problem within agri-food systems.

Moral Disengagement in Adolescent Offenders: Its Relationship with Antisocial Behavior and Its Presence in Offenders of the Law and School Norms.

This study focuses on understanding the relationship between moral disengagement mechanisms in adolescents who engage in law-breaking activities and those who violate school norms. To do so, we administered the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (MMDS), which evaluates moral justification, euphemistic labeling, advantageous comparison, deflection of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, distortion of consequences, dehumanization, and attribution of blame, to 366 adolescents (60.1% males (n = 220) and 39.9% females (n = 146)). Our results confirmed the hypothesis that law-breaking adolescents presented a higher degree of moral disengagement than those adolescents who violate school norms. Additionally, we found that adolescents who violated school norms displayed significantly higher levels of dehumanization than the controls, and law-breaking adolescents obtained the highest score in this domain. Our findings allow us to suggest that the presence of the dehumanization mechanism in adolescents who violate school norms could be used as an early indicator of the emergence of antisocial behaviors, since this was the only component of moral disengagement that significantly differentiated this group from the controls in the study.

The role of gender and sexism in the moral disengagement mechanisms of technology-facilitated sexual violence

Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) encompasses various harmful online behaviors, such as online gender-based hate speech, online gender-based violence, digital sexual harassment, image-based sexual abuse, and online sexual coercion. This study aimed to examine how moral disengagement varies based on the type of TFSV, and the factors influencing moral disengagement in TFSV situations. Specifically, the impact of participant gender, participant sexist beliefs, and victim–perpetrator gender was assessed. A total of 2950 respondents (70.3% women) between the ages of 16 and 79 (M = 26.33, SD = 10.09) participated in a vignette study in which the variables of interest (TFSV type, victim-perpetrator gender) were manipulated. The findings revealed that moral disengagement levels varied across different types of TFSV, with higher levels observed in cases of online gender-based hate speech, followed by online gender-based violence, digital sexual harassment, image-based sexual abuse, and online sexual coercion. Moreover, the results indicated that sexist beliefs, participant gender (i.e., being a man), and situations involving a woman perpetrator and a man victim were associated with greater moral disengagement. Additionally, it was found that sexist beliefs play a more significant role in moral disengagement for women than for men. This information, which emphasizes the role of gender socialization and sexist beliefs in the justification and normalization of this type of violence, is important for the development of prevention programs.

Understanding the association between moral disengagement and ethnic victimization: roles of bystanders in class

ABSTRACT The current study examined whether bystander behaviours in class were associated with being perpetrators of ethnic victimization and whether they moderated the association between disengagement from morality and perpetrating ethnic-based victimization. The sample included 1065 adolescents residing in Sweden (M age = 13.12, SD=.42; 55% males) from the first wave of a three-year longitudinal study. Students completed self-report measures. The results showed that adolescents with high levels of moral disengagement had greater likelihood of engagement in ethnic victimization. At the classroom level, lower levels of defending intentions and higher levels of reinforcing behaviours were related to higher likelihood of engagement in ethnic victimization. None of the cross-level interactions between moral disengagement and classroom-level bystander behaviours were statistically significant. Together, these findings suggest that intervention programmes designed to reduce bias-based hostile behaviours in schools may focus on promoting defending behaviours in class. However, the findings also highlight that targeting social context (or at least bystanders in class) might not be sufficient by itself to intervene with morally disengaged adolescents’ involvement in ethnic victimization. Intervention efforts may also benefit from including specific components targeting moral disengagement mechanisms.

Do individualizing moral foundations protect from higher moral disengagement in imprisoned men and women?

We aimed to analyze whether the individualizing moral foundations play a protective role against moral disengagement in a sample of 367 women and men in prison, and whether, in addition, moral foundations promote the intention to change the behaviors that led them to prison. Controlling for gender differences, we found support for the hypothesized connection between the individualizing moral foundations, as proposed by the Moral Foundations Theory (i.e., care and fairness), and the vast majority of moral disengagement mechanisms, especially with the two cruelest (attribution of blame and dehumanization). Regarding the intention to change the immoral behavior that brought our participants into prison, we found that, as hypothesized, the individualizing moral foundations positively and victim locus category negatively showed significant predictive power. This particular result could be especially relevant to improve the re-education interventions formulated for people in prison.

Injustice Promotes Unethical Behavior Through Moral Disengagement

People are aversive to injustice. Yet how injustice experiences influence people’s ethic violation is understudied. Across three studies, we found that injustice increases unethical behavior and that moral disengagement is an underlying driver of this effect. By measuring (Study 1) and manipulating injustice (Study 2), two studies demonstrated that moral disengagement mediated the association between injustice and unethical behavior. Consistent with the moral disengagement mechanism, experimentally lowering participants’ moral disengagement eliminated the effect of injustice on unethical behavior (Study 3). These findings add to the literature on injustice as well as unethical behavior and have important implications.

Pedestrian moral disengagement scale towards sustainable urban planning

This study aimed to address Goal 3.5: Reduce deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents of the United Nations SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being (United Nations, 2023) by examining the conduct of Peruvian pedestrians and its involvement in traffic accidents. We considered the Lima Metropolitan Area as the target population because it represents the third largest part of Peru, with 8,894,412 inhabitants (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica, 2015). We developed and validated a pedestrian moral disengagement scale that provides relevant information about the justifications concerned when pedestrians commit transport infractions, which those in charge of transport management can use to make decisions regarding the design and planning of the infrastructure. The study was conducted in two phases. First, a questionnaire was developed with a 100–100-pedestrian sample in a two-stage brainstorming process validated by transport academic experts and psychologists. Second, a clustered instance of two stages of 405 pedestrians from Metropolitan Lima was analysed by applying exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results showed that the data collected were not parametric; Spearman’s correlation index validated the correlation between the items on the scale, and polychoric correlational analysis confirmed an underlying metrical variable; and the model exhibited a p-value of less than 0.001, a chi-square of 173 with 59 degrees of freedom, a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.0692, a comparative fit index (CFI) of o.937, a Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) of 0.917, and a standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) of 0.0457. The main conclusion was that the adjustment of the model was sufficient, considering the results obtained within the theoretical model proposed by Albert Bandura (1986) and within the phases of reliability and validation confirming the representation of the eight mechanisms of pedestrian moral disengagement in Metropolitan Lima through the 13 identified items. Furthermore, a chi-square analysis found that residents and commuters in the El Agustino district enjoyed holding on to moving vehicles while skating or cycling (item P1.10), with an asymptotic significance of 0.018. Similarly, residents and travellers in the Cieneguilla district were likely to ignore traffic lights and police instructions (item P1.13), with an asymptotic significance of 0.009. By comprehensively analysing district variables and considering each district's unique challenges and needs, urban planners and those in charge of transport management can develop more effective solutions that improve pedestrian safety, accessibility, and urban mobility in developing countries.

Cheques or dating scams? Online fraud themes in hip-hop songs across popular music apps

How do hip-hop songs produced from 2017 to 2023 depict and rationalize online fraud? This study examines the depiction of online fraudsters in thirty-three Nigerian hip-hop songs on nine popular streaming platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, SoundCloud, Apple Music, and YouTube. Using a directed approach to qualitative content analysis, we coded lyrics based on the moral disengagement mechanism and core themes derived from existing literature. Our findings shed light on how songs (a) justify the fraudulent actions of online fraudsters, (b) blame and dehumanize victims of online romance fraud, (c) glamorize online fraud, and (d) provide insights into prevailing attitudes, indigenous linguistics, and worldviews regarding cybercrime victimization. Specifically, our analysis shows the presence of moral disengagement mechanisms, including "dehumanization," “minimizing own agency,” and "displacement of responsibility." Moreover, we identify core contextual themes pertinent to online fraud in the Nigerian context: (a) "cyber spiritualism" and (b) "the North-South divide." This research underscores the global influence of musicians whose songs are easily accessible on diverse music platforms in trivializing the plight of online fraud victims. We argue that these artists' persuasive messages not only downplay but also satirize the victims' predicaments, thus contributing to the cultural worldviews and dimensions of online fraud. We conclude by underscoring these songs' capacity to actualize, reshape, and actively engage with the narratives of glamorization, justification, spiritualism, colonial legacies, gender dynamics, and societal implications. We recommend that future research endeavors explore non-conventional data sources adept at capturing the intricate fabric of cultural attitudes and dynamics.

The Role of Moral Disengagement in the Relationships between Ethical Ideology and Unethical Pro-Organizational Behaviour

There is growing research by a group of researcher on unethical pro-organisation behaviour (UPB) especially after the misconduct of carbon emission by Volkswagen, the researchers have trying to understand why, how and when employees would conduct UPB by using various theories (Mishra et al., 2021) including moral disengagement theory (Mishra et al., 2021). Drawing from moral disengagement theory (Bandura, 1990) we argue that moral disengagement mechanism mediates the relationships between ethical ideology and UPB. As the literature of moral disengagement in unethical behaviour and UPB heavily tested and rely on moral disengagement as unidimensional construct, so less is known which mechanisms of moral disengagement influence employees behaviour (Ogunfowora et al., 2021). So, this paper will examine how idealist and relativist adopting moral disengagement mechanisms in justifying their immoral act of UPB. The study is a cross sectional study which the data was collected through paper and pencil survey. A total of 387 responses were collected from private sectors employees in Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The respondents received RM10 KFC voucher as a token. The data quality measures were used by including attention check questions and marker variable (Moore et al., 2021). All the responses were measured using 7-likert scale, where 1 – strongly disagree and 7-strongly agree. Employees ethical ideology was measured using 20 items by (Forsyth, 1980), moral disengagement was measured using 32 items by (Bandura, 1990), and UPB was measure using 6 items by (Umphress et al., 2010), The analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 27, and the mediation analysis was tested using PROCESS. Keywords: Unethical pro-organizational behaviour, moral disengagement, ethical ideology

The effect of relative deprivation on aggressive behavior of college students: a moderated mediation model of belief in a just world and moral disengagement

BackgroundPrevious research found that college students have exhibited a group of concern, and aggressive behavior occurs from time to time in daily life. In order to investigate the effect of relative deprivation on aggressive behavior of college students, this study conducted a moderated mediation model to examine the relationship between relative deprivation, aggressive behavior, belief in a just world, and moral disengagement.Methods1169 college students(71.7% female; mean age = 19.41, SD = 1.3, range = 17-30years) participated in and completed measures of Relative Deprivation Questionnaire, Belief in a Just World Scale, Moral disengagement Scale and Aggression Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using a moderated mediation model with SPSS and Process 3.1 macro.ResultsThe results revealed that: (1) Relative deprivation significantly positively predicted college students’ aggressive behavior controlling for gender, grade, and age (B = 0.45, p＜0.001). (2) Belief in a just world played mediating role in relative deprivation and aggressive behavior(indirect effect = 0.04, 95%CI = [0.002,0.007], accounting for 9% of the total effect). (3) The moderated mediator model test showed that moral disengagement regulates the first half of the mediator effect path (B = 0.71, p < 0.01).ConclusionThe present study analyzed the moral disengagement mechanisms deeply and shed light on how to decrease the aggressive behavior of college students.