Advancing the study of moral disengagement: a summary of current research and future directions

Abstract

Commonly, people can refrain from conducting and endorsing harmful behaviour using self-regulatory mechanisms. Nevertheless, many examples exist in which people do engage occasionally in harmful conduct and, moreover, feel little remorse afterwards. How can this be? Moral disengagement theory posits that individuals use psychological mechanisms to justify harmful behaviour and avoid self-sanctions. Moral disengagement has been widely researched in different areas, such as organizational behaviour, education, and healthcare, among others, and it has been demonstrated as one of the main antecedents of unethical behaviour. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on moral disengagement, including new relevant theoretical conceptualizations, its developmental features across the lifespan, its antecedents and consequences, and ways that have been proposed to overcome it. Finally, they suggest new directions for future research.