Experiencing Moral Disengagement

Moral disengagement is a concept in social psychology that falls under the umbrella of social cognitive theory (SCT). Social cognitive theory “adopts an interactionist perspective to morality in which moral actions are the products of the reciprocal interplay of personal and social influences” [1]. In SCT, moral reasoning (the process of determining right or wrong in a given situation) is translated into action via self-regulation (the capacity individuals inherently possess to exercise some control over their thought processes, motivation, affect, and action) and control mechanisms anchored in moral standards and self-sanctions by which moral agency is exercised.