Moral Disengagement: the Psychological Construct and its Measurement

Th e paper is the fi rst presentation of A. Bandura’s concept of moral disengagement and its eight mechanisms made in the Russian language. Various examples of empirical research of this construct conducted in diff erent countries for various purposes are described. Th ree empirical studies of the adaptation procedure for the original English version (authored by C. Moore) are provided in Russian translation: two studies describe the short scale (MD-8) adaptation procedures and the third one describes the longer scale (MD-24) adaptation procedure. It is shown that Cronbach’s alpha reliability index as well as the test-retest reliability coeffi cient are acceptable. Both scales for moral disengagement assessment (MD-8 and MD-24 in Russian) may be used for various purposes. Both scales’ questions/statements are provided.

Milgrem S. Podchinenie avtoritetu. Nauchnyi vzgliad na vlast’ i moral’ [Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View]. Moscow, Alpina non-fi ction Publ., 2016. 242 p. (In Russian)

Zimbardo F. Effekt Liutsifera. Pochemu khoroshie liudi prevrashchaiutsia v zlodeev [The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil]. Transl. from Engl. by A. Stativk. Moscow, Alpina non-fictionPubl., 2013. 740 p. (In Russian)

Kohlberg L. The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages. Essays on Moral Development. Ed. by L. Kohlberg. Vol. 2: The Philosophy of Moral Development. San Francisco, Harper & Row Publishers. 1984. 768 p.

Antsyferova L. I. Sviaz’ moral’nogo soznaniia s nravstvennym povedeniem cheloveka (po materialam issledovanii Lourensa Kolberga i ego shkoly) [An association between moral consciousness and human moral behavior (based on research by Lawrence Kohlberg]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological Journal], 1999, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 5–17. (In Russian)

Gulevich O. A. Sotsial’naia psikhologiia spravedlivosti [Social psychology of justice]. Moscow, Institut psikhologii RAN Publ., 2011. 284 p. (In Russian)

Bandura A. Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live With Themselves. New York, NY, Worth Publishers, 2016. 446 p.

Bandura A. Selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of moral education, 2002, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 101–119.

Bandura A. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliff s, NJ, Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1985. 544 p.

Moore C. Moral disengagement. Current Opinion in Psychology, 2015, vol. 6, pp. 199–204.

Sternberg R. J. When Good, Not So Good, and Downright Evil People Do Bad Things: A Review of Moral Disengagement. Available at: http://www.apa.org/international/pi/2016/03/moral-disengagement. aspx (accessed: 10.09.2016).

Ledovaia Ia. A., Bogolyubova O. N., Tikhonov R. V. Stress, blagopoluchie i Temnaia triada [Stress,

Well-being and the Dark Triad]. Psikhologicheskie issledovaniia, 2015, vol. 8, no. 43. P. 5. Available at: http://psystudy.ru (accessed: 15.08.2016).

 

Bandura A., Barbaranelli C., Caprara G. V., Pastorelli C. Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1996, vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 364–374.

Gini G., Pozzoli T., Hymel S. Moral disengagement among children and youth: A meta-analytic review of links to aggressive behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 2013, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 56–68.

Wood J., Moir A., James M. Prisoners’ gang-related activity: the importance of bullying and moral disengagement. Psychology, Crime & Law, 2009, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 569–581.

Moore C., Detert J. R., Baker V. L., Mayer D. M. Why Employees Do Bad Things: Moral Disengagement And Unethical Organizational Behavior. Personnel Psychology, 2012. vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 1–48.

Kavussanu M., Hatzigeorgiadis A., Elbe A.-M., Ring C. The moral disengagement in doping scale. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2016, vol. 24, pp. 188–198.

Leidner B, Castano E, Zaiser E, Giner-Sorolla R. Ingroup Glorifi cation, Moral Disengagement, and

Justice in the Context of Collective Violence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2010, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 1115–1129.

 

McAlister A. L. Moral Disengagement: Measurement and Modifi cation. Journal of Peace Research, 2001, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 87–99.

Bandura A. The role of selective moral disengagement in terrorism and counterterrorism. Understanding terrorism: Psychosocial roots, consequences, and interventions. Eds F. M. Moghaddam, A. J. Marsella. Washington, DC, US, American Psychological Association Publ. , 2004, pp. 121–150.

Caprara G. V., Fida R., Vecchione M., Tramontano C., Barbaranelli C. Assessing civic moral disengagement: dimensionality and construct validity. Personality and Individual Differences, 2009, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 504–509

Enikolopov R., Korovkin V., Petrova M., Sonin K., Zakharov A. Field experiment estimate of electoral fraud in Russian parliamentary elections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012, vol. 110, no. 2, pp. 448–452.

Znamenskaya I. I., Markov A. V., Bakhchina A. V., Aleksandrov Yu. I. Otnoshenie k .chuzhim. pri stresse: sistemnaia dediff erentsiatsiia [Attitude toward .others. under stress: system dedifferentiation]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological Journal], 2016, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 44–58. (In Russian)

Kuper K. Individual’nye razlichiia [Individual difference]. Moscow, Aspekt Press Publ., 2000. 527 p. (In Russian)

Egan V., Hughes N., Palmer E. J. Moral disengagement, the dark triad, and unethical consumer attitudes. Personality and Individual Differences, 2015, vol. 76, pp. 123–128.

Egorova M. S., Sitnikova M. A., Parshikova O. V. Adaptatsiia Korotkogo oprosnika Temnoi triady Adaptation of the Short Dark Triad]. Psikhologicheskie issledovaniia, 2015, vol. 8, no. 43, p. 1. Available at: http://psystudy.ru (accessed: 02.09.2016)