Moral Disengagement

Moral disengagement refers to a set of cognitive processes by which people convince themselves that ordinary ethical standards do not apply to them in a particular context, allowing them to engage in harmful conduct without experiencing the self-condemnation that would normally follow. The concept was developed by psychologist Albert Bandura, who identified mechanisms such as euphemistic labeling of harmful acts, minimizing or misrepresenting the consequences of one's actions, and blaming or dehumanizing the victim. Moral disengagement has been studied in contexts ranging from everyday dishonesty to organizational misconduct and wartime atrocities.