The role of moral receptors and moral disengagement in the conduct of unethical behaviors on social media

Abstract

Within the last years, the perception of social media has dramatically changed in public opinion as the dark side of social media has become more and more visible. Previous research has tried to explain unethical behavior on social media with intrinsic and extrinsic motives. The main goal of this study is to develop and provide a conceptual model that links moral receptors with moral disengagement in the context of unethical behavior on social media. For that reason, a set of propositions are developed linking the moral receptors “harm/care,” “fairness/reciprocity,” “in-group/loyalty,” “authority/respect,” and “purity/sanctity” with moral disengagement in order to explain immoral conduct on social media.