Disengagement from Moral Disengagement: A Review of Individual Differences and Interventions Programs

Year 2024, Volume: 16 Issue: 1, 31 - 47, 31.03.2024

Esra Yalçın , Büşra Aktaş

https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.1223370

Abstract

It is an intriguing question of how people can reduce stress in which situations where internal moral standards are violated. Addressing this question, moral disengagement theory has been proposed to explain different cognitive mechanisms which ease people into engaging or witnessing moral transgressions. Several findings showed that moral disengagement tendencies might be explained by individual differences as well as contextual factors. Beyond showing the correlations between moral disengagement processes and individual differences and contextual factors, it is also valuable to investigate if there is an effective way to intervene in moral disengagement. This review article addresses the previously shown evidence regarding individual differences, contextual factors, and interventions, which in turn aim to enrich our understanding of the underlying psychological mechanisms to reduce unethical behaviors. Taken together, Honesty-Modesty, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism were found to be individual differences associated with moral disengagement. Additionally, less research yielded that attachment styles, political attitudes, moral identity, and moral emotions might be important to experience moral disengagement. Although several studies showed that individual differences are related to being more prone to moral disengagement, these studies had rarely been considered in intervention programs aiming to reduce immoral behaviors. Programs that have been designed to reduce moral disengagement overlook the long-term effects. Additionally, interventions often focus on the work environment and adolescence. In the future, interventions that include longitudinal designs considering the role of individual differences and different contexts might contribute to the relevant literature.

Keywords

moral psychology, moral disengagement, individual differences, intervention studies, prevention studies

Ahlaki Uzaklaşmadan Uzaklaşmak: Bireysel Farklılıklar ve Müdahale Programlarına İlişkin Bir Derleme

Abstract

Kişilerin içsel ahlaki standartların ihlal edildiği durumlarda nasıl düşük düzeyde stres deneyimlediği merak uyandıran bir sorudur. Bu soruyu ele alan ahlaki uzaklaşma teorisi, insanların ahlaki ihlallere dahil veya tanık olmasını kolaylaştıran farklı bilişsel mekanizmaları açıklamak üzere öne sürülmüştür. İncelemeler ahlaki uzaklaşmaya ilişkin eğilimlerin bağlamsal faktörlerin yanı sıra bireysel farklılıklarla da açıklanabileceğine işaret etmektedir. Ahlaki uzaklaşmanın bireysel farklılıklar ve bağlamsal faktörlerle ilişkisinin ötesinde, ahlaki uzaklaşmaya müdahale etmenin etkili bir yolu olup olmadığını araştırmak da oldukça değerlidir. Bu derleme makalesi, bireysel farklılıklar, bağlamsal faktörler ve müdahalelerle ilgili çalışmaları ele alarak etik olmayan davranışların azaltılabilmesi için altta yatan psikolojik mekanizmalara ilişkin anlayışımızı zenginleştirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Birlikte ele alındığında, bulgular Dürüstlük-Alçakgönüllülük, Uyumluluk, Sorumluluk, Psikopati ve Makyavelizm’in, ahlaki uzaklaşma ile ilişkili bireysel farklılıklar olduğunu göstermektedir. Ek olarak, daha az sayıda araştırmada bağlanma stillerinin, politik tutumların, ahlaki kimliğin ve ahlaki duyguların ahlaki uzaklaşma süreçlerini deneyimlemekle ilişkili olduğu bulunmuştur. Çalışmalar bireysel farklılıkların ahlaki uzaklaşmaya yatkınlık için önemli olduğunu gösterse de bu farkların ahlaki uzaklaşmayı azaltmak için müdahale programlarında nadiren dikkate alındığı görülmektedir. Ahlaki uzaklaşmayı azaltmak için tasarlanan programların uzun vadeli etkilerinin nadiren test edildiği ve genellikle çalışma ortamına veya ergenlik dönemine odaklandığı görülmektedir. Gelecekte bireysel farklılıkların rolünü dikkate alan boylamsal desenleri içeren uygulamalı çalışmalar ilgili literatüre katkı sağlayacaktır.

Keywords

ahlak psikolojisi, ahlaki uzaklaşma, bireysel farklılıklar, müdahale çalışmaları, önleyici çalışmalar

References

• Aghababaei N, Błachnio A (2015) Well-being and the dark triad. Pers Individ Dif, 86:365–368.
• Alparslan B (2017) Ahlaki uzaklaşma. In Sosyal Psikolojide Değerler ve Ahlak: Kuramlar ve Ölçekler (Eds S Cesur, Ç Erdoğan, B Tepe, A Bayad, O Yılmaz):119-133. İstanbul, Nobel.
• Altemeyer B (1996) The Authoritarian Specter. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press
• Aquino K, Reed A (2002) The self-importance of moral identity. J Pers Soc Psychol, 83:1423-1440.
• Aquino K, Reed II A, Thau S, Freeman D (2007) A grotesque and dark beauty: How moral identity and mechanisms of moral disengagement influence cognitive and emotional reactions to war. J Exp Soc Psychol, 43:385-392.
• Arendt H (2010) Kötülüğün Sıradanlığı. Adolf Eichmann Kudüs’te, (Çeviri. Ed. Ö Çelik). İstanbul, Metis Yayınları.
• Ashton M C, Lee K (2007) Empirical, theoretical, and practical advantages of the HEXACO model of personality structure. Pers Soc Psychol Rev, 11:150-166.
• Bandura A (1986) Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall.
• Bandura A (2001) Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annu Rev Psychol, 52:1-26.
• Bandura A, Barbaranelli C, Caprara G V, Pastorelli C (1996) Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. J Pers Soc Psychol, 71:364-374.
• Bandura A, Caprara G V, Barbaranelli C, Pastorelli C, Regalia C (2001) Sociocognitive self-regulatory mechanisms governing transgressive behavior. J Pers Soc Psychol, 80:125-135.
• Bao Z, Zhang W, Lai X, Sun W, Wang Y (2015) Parental attachment and Chinese adolescents' delinquency: The mediating role of moral disengagement. J Adolesc, 44:37-47.
• Bartholomew K, Horowitz L M (1991) Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. J Pers Soc Psychol, 61:226–244.
• Batson C D, Thompson E R, Chen H (2002) Moral hypocrisy: addressing some alternatives. J Pers Soc Psychol, 83:330.
• Bowlby J (1973) Attachment and Loss, Vol. 2: Separation: Anxiety and Anger. New York, NY, Basic Books.
• Bustamante A, Chaux E (2014) Reducing moral disengagement mechanisms: a comparison of two ınterventions. J Lat Am Stud, 6:52–54.
• Caprara G V, Alessandri G, Tisak M S, Paciello M, Caprara M G, Gerbino M et al (2013) Individual differences in personality conducive to engagement in aggression and violence. Eur J Pers, 27:290-303.
• Caravita S C, Gini G, Pozzoli T (2012) Main and moderated effects of moral cognition and status on bullying and defending. Aggress Behav, 38:456-468.
• Caravita S C, Sijtsema J J, Rambaran J A, Gini G (2014) Peer influences on moral disengagement in late childhood and early adolescence. J Youth Adolesc, 43:93-207.
• Chan H C O ve Wong D S (2015) Traditional school bullying and cyberbullying in Chinese societies: Prevalence and a review of the whole-school intervention approach. Aggress Violent Behav, 23:98-108.
• Chugh D, Kern M C, Zhu Z, Lee S (2014) Withstanding moral disengagement: Attachment security as an ethical intervention. J Exp Soc Psychol, 51:88–93.
• Cohen T R, Panter A T, Turan N, Morse L A, Kim Y (2014) Moral character in the workplace. J Pers Soc Psychol, 107:943–963.
• Collins N L, Feeney B C (2000) A safe haven: An attachment theory perspective on support seeking and caregiving in intimate relationships. J Pers Soc Psychol, 78:1053-1073.
• Costello K, Hodson G (2009) Exploring the roots of dehumanization: The role of animal-human similarity in promoting immigrant humanization. Group Process Intergroup Relat 13:3-22.
• De Caroli M E, Sagone E (2014) Mechanisms of moral disengagement: An analysis from early adolescence to youth. Procedia Soc Behav Sci, 140:312-317.
• Detert J R, Trevino L K, Sweitzer V L (2008) Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: A study of antecedents and outcomes. J Appl Psychol, 93:374-391.
• Egan V, Hughes N, Palmer E J (2015) Moral disengagement, the dark triad, and unethical consumer attitudes. Pers Individ Dif, 76:123-128.
• Erik S, Aykaç S, Dertli Ö, Şafak S, Sulak-Akyüz B, Sulak S (2022) Üniversite öğrencilerinin apati özelliğinin ahlaki uzaklaşma davranışlarına etkisi. Uluslararası Güncel Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 8:267-280.
• Espelage D L, Low S K, Jimerson S R (2014) Understanding school climate, aggression, peer victimization, and bully perpetration: contemporary science, practice, and policy. Sch Psychol Q, 29:233.
• Festinger LA (1957) A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Redwood, CA, Stanford University Press.
• Gezici-Yalçın M, Şenyurt AY, Gültepe B, Coşkun H (2016) Ahlâkî uzaklaşma ölçeğinin türkçeye uyarlanması. Kalem Uluslararası Eğitim ve İnsan Bilimleri Dergisi, 6:309-332.
• Gini G (2006) Social cognition and moral cognition in bullying: What’s wrong? Aggress Behav, 32:528–539.
• Gini G, Pozzoli T, Hymel S (2014) Moral disengagement among children and youth: A meta-analytic review of links to aggressive behavior. Aggress Behav, 40:56–68.
• Graham J, Haidt J, Nosek B A (2009) Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations. J Pers Soc Psychol, 96:1029.
• Haidt J (2003) The moral emotions. In Handbook of Affective Sciences (Eds RJ Davidson, K R Scherer, HH Goldsmith):852–870. Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press.
• Haidt J, Graham J (2007) When morality opposes justice: Conservatives have moral intuitions that liberals may not recognize. Soc Justice Res, 20:98-116.
• Hardy SA, Bean DS, Olsen JA (2015) Moral identity and adolescent prosocial and antisocial behaviors: interactions with moral disengagement and self-regulation. J Youth Adolesc, 44: 1542–1554.
• Hardy SA, Carlo G (2011) Moral identity: What is it, how does it develop, and is it linked to moral action? Child Dev Perspect, 5:212-218.
• Hoffman M L (1978) Empathy: Its development and prosocial implications. In Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Eds CB Keasey):169–218. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press.
• Hyde LW, Shaw DS, Moilanen KL (2010) Developmental precursors of moral disengagement and the role of moral disengagement in the development of antisocial behavior. J Abnorm Child Psychol, 38:197-209.
• Jackson LE, Gaertner L (2010) Mechanisms of moral disengagement and their differential use by right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation in support of war. Aggress Behav, 36:238-250.
• Jones BD, Woodman T, Barlow M, Roberts R (2017) The darker side of personality: Narcissism predicts moral disengagement and antisocial behavior in sport. Sport Psychol, 31:109-116.
• Kish-Gephart J, Detert J, Treviño L K, Baker V, Martin S (2014) Situational moral disengagement: can the effects of self-interest be mitigated? J Bus Ethics, 125:267–285.
• Kocatürk M, Kurtça TT (2021) Akran zorbalığı ve mağduriyeti, siber zorbalık, ahlaki uzaklaşma ve empatik ilgi arasındaki ilişkilerin incelenmesi. Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 20:1123-1136.
• Lewin K (1935) A Dynamic Theory of Personality. New York, McGraw-Hill.
• Malti T, Gasser L, Buchmann M (2009) Aggressive and prosocial children's emotion attributions and moral reasoning. Aggress Behav, 35:90-102.
• Mazzone A, Camodeca M (2019) Bullying and moral disengagement in early adolescence: Do personality and family functioning matter? J Child Fam Stud, 28:2120-2130.
• McAlister AL (2001) Moral disengagement: measurement and modification. J Peace Res, 38:87–99.
• McCrae RR, John OP (1992) An introduction to the five‐factor model and its applications. J Pers, 60:75-215.
• Menesini E, Codecasa E, Benelli B, Cowie H (2003) Enhancing children’s responsibility to take action against bullying: Evaluation of a befriending intervention in Italian middle schools. Aggress Behav, 29:1–14.
• Mikulincer, M. Shaver, P. R. (2005) Attachment security, compassion, and altruism. Curr Dir Psychol Sci, 14:34-38.
• Milgram S (1974) The dilemma of obedience. Phi Delta Kappan, 55:603-606.
• Miller JG, Wice M, Goyal N (2019) Culture, parenting practices, and moral development. In The Oxford Handbook Of Parenting and Moral Development (Eds DJ Laible, G Carlo, LM Padilla-Walker):147-161. New York, Oxford University Press.
• Moore C (2008) Moral disengagement in processes of organizational corruption. J Bus Ethics, 80:129-139.
• Moore C (2015) Moral disengagement. Curr Opin Psychol, 6:199–204.
• Newman A, Le H, North-Samardzic A, Cohen M (2020) Moral disengagement at work: A review and research agenda. J Bus Ethics, 167:535-570.
• Obermann ML (2011) Moral disengagement in self-reported and peer-nominated school bullying. Aggress Behav, 37:33–144.
• Ogunfowora B, Bourdage JS (2014) Does Honesty–Humility influence evaluations of leadership emergence? The mediating role of moral disengagement. Pers Individ Dif, 56:95-99.
• Paciello M, Fida R, Cerniglia L, Tramontano C, Cole E (2013) High cost helping scenario: The role of empathy, prosocial reasoning and moral disengagement on helping behavior. Pers Individ Dif, 55:3–7.
• Paciello M, Fida R, Tramontano C, Lupinetti C, Caprara G V (2008) Stability and change of moral disengagement and its impact on aggression and violence in late adolescence. Child Dev, 79:1288–1309.
• Perren S, Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger E (2012) Cyberbullying and traditional bullying in adolescence: Differential roles of moral disengagement, moral emotions, and moral values. Eur J Dev Psychol, 9:195-209.
• Prinz J (2006) The emotional basis of moral judgments. Philos Explor, 9:29-43.
• Prinz J (2007) The Emotional Construction of Morals. New York, Oxford University Press.
• Rengifo M, Laham SM (2022) Big Five personality predictors of moral disengagement: A comprehensive aspect-level approach. Pers Individ Dif, 184:111-176.
• Rotter JB (1966) Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychol Monogr, 80:1-28.
• Sagi A, Hoffman ML (1976) Empathic distress in the newborn. Dev Psychol, 12:75– 176.
• Set Z (2020) Sosyal kötücül kişilikler: karanlık üçlü. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar, 12:318-329.
• Shaver PR, Mikulincer M (2012) An attachment perspective on morality: Strengthening authentic forms of moral decision making. In The Social Psychology of Morality: Exploring The Causes of Good and Evil (Eds M Mikulincer, PR Shaver):257-274. Washington DC, American Psychological Association.
• Shaver PR, Mikulincer M, Shemesh-Iron M (2010) A behavioural-systems perspective on prosocial behaviour. In Prosocial Motives, Emotions, and Behavior: The Better Angels of Our Nature (Eds M Mikulincer, PR Shaver):72-91. Washington DC, American Psychological Association.
• Shu LL, Gino F, Bazerman M H (2011) Dishonest deed, clear conscience: When cheating leads to moral disengagement and motivated forgetting. Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 37:330-349.
• Sidanius J, Pratto F (1999) Social Dominance. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.
• Smith RH, Webster JM, Parrott WG, Eyre HL (2002) The role of public exposure in moral and nonmoral shame and guilt. J Pers Soc Psychol, 83:138-159.
• Staub E (1990) Moral exclusion, personal goal theory, and extreme destructiveness. J Soc Issues, 46:47-64.
• Sverdlik N, Rechter E (2020) Religious and secular roads to justify wrongdoing: How values interact with culture in explaining moral disengagement attitudes. J Res Pers, 87:103981.
• Tahrir M, Nurdin FS, Damayanti IR (2020) The role of critical thinking as a mediator variable in the effect of internal locus of control on moral disengagement. International Journal of Instruction, 13:17-34.
• Tangney J P, Stuewig J, Mashek DJ (2007) Moral emotions and moral behavior. Annu Rev Psychol, 58:345–372.
• Teng Z, Bear G G, Yang C, Nie Q, Guo C (2020) Moral disengagement and bullying perpetration: A longitudinal study of the moderating effect of school climate. Sch Psychol Q, 35:99-109
• Tillman CJ, Gonzalez K, Whitman MV, Crawford WS, Hood AC (2018) A multi-functional view of moral disengagement: Exploring the effects of learning the consequences. Front Psychol, 26:2286.
• Tsang JA (2002) Moral rationalization and the integration of situational factors and psychological processes in immoral behavior. Rev Gen Psychol, 6:25-50.
• Turan S (2021) Geç ergenlik dönemi: Ahlaki uzaklaşma. Sportive, 4:1-11.
• Wang C, Couch L, Rodriguez GR, Lee C (2015) The bullying literature project: using children’s literature to promote prosocial behavior and social-emotional outcomes among elementary school students. Contemp Sch Psychol, 19:320-329.
• Wang C, Goldberg TS (2017) Using children's literature to decrease moral disengagement and victimization among elementary school students. Psychol Sch, 54:918-931.
• Wang X, Yang J, Wang P, Lei L (2019) Childhood maltreatment, moral disengagement, and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration: Fathers' and mothers' moral disengagement as moderators. Comput Human Behav, 95:48-57.
• Yalçın Ö (2017) Sosyal baskınlık yönelimi ahlaki standartları farklı ahlaki temeller boyunca perdeliyor: ahlaki geri çekilmede bireysel farklılıklar. Türk Psikoloji Dergisi, 32:44-62.
• Yang J, Wang X (2011) Interparental conflict and aggressive behavior: The mediating effect of the moral disengagement. Psychological Development & Education, 27:498-505.
• Yang J, Wang X, Lei L (2020) Perceived school climate and adolescents’ bullying perpetration: A moderated mediation model of moral disengagement and peers’ defending. Child Youth Serv Rev, 109:104716.
• Yavuz-Birben F (2019) Ahlaki kayıtsızlığı azaltmaya yönelik bir eğitim programı geliştirilmesi ve etkililiğinin değerlendirilmesi. (Doktora tezi). İstanbul, Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi.
• Yavuz-Birben F, Bacanlı H (2017) Ahlaki kayıtsızlık ölçeği’nin Türkçe’ye uyarlanması: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması. Yıldız Journal of Educational Research, 2:1-25.
• Zelidman A (2014) Empathy as a moderator of adolescent bullying behavior and moral disengagement after controlling for social desirability (Doctoral thesis). Michigan, Wayne State University.
• Zeng P, Wang P, Nie J, Ouyang M, Lei L (2020) Gratitude and cyberbullying perpetration: The mediating role of self-compassion and moral disengagement. Child Youth Serv Rev, 119:105608.
• Zhang Y, Chen C, Teng Z, Guo C (2021) Parenting style and cyber-aggression in Chinese youth: the role of moral disengagement and moral identity. Front Psychol, 12:621878.
• Zimbardo P G (2004) A situationist perspective on the psychology of evil: Understanding how good people are transformed into perpetrators. In The Social Psychology of Good and Evil, 2nd ed. (Ed AG Miller):21–50. New York, Guilford Press.
• Zych I, Gómez-Ortiz O, Fernández-Touceda L, Nasaescu E, Llorent VJ (2020) Parental moral disengagement induction as a predictor of bullying and cyberbullying: mediation by children’s moral disengagement, moral emotions, and validation of a questionnaire. Child Indic Res, 13:1065-1083.