Good people can do bad things without realizing they are behaving badly (Mazar, Amir, & Ariely, 2008; Peer & Acquisiti, 2014; Tenbrunsel & Messick, 2004). Bandura (1986) explained this with moral disengagement, defined as... [ view full abstract ]
Good people can do bad things without realizing they are behaving badly (Mazar, Amir, & Ariely, 2008; Peer & Acquisiti, 2014; Tenbrunsel & Messick, 2004). Bandura (1986) explained this with moral disengagement, defined as eight unconscious processes that stop people from recognizing the ethics in an ethical situation (Detert, Treviño, & Sweitzer, 2008). Research on unethical behavior has found that peers’ unethical behavior can influence one’s own unethical behavior (Gino, Ayal, & Ariely, 2009; Mazar et al., 2008, O’Fallon & Butterfield, 2012; Pascual-Ezama, Dunfield, de Liaño, & Prelec, 2015). However, no studies have explored the role of peers in moral disengagement. Using 288 adults recruited from Facebook, the present study employs a 2 x 2 between-groups design and examines if peers’ moral disengagement influences one’s own moral disengagement. The study also investigates if people with high levels of character-trait moral disengagement (high DMD) are actually more likely to use moral disengagement than people with low levels of character-trait moral disengagement (low DMD). This study found that peers’ moral disengagement did not influence one’s own moral disengagement, and those with high DMD are more likely to use moral disengagement than those with low DMD.
