us to misbehave, and continue  to feel good about ourselves,  

convinced that our own moral  standards don't apply to us.

This psychological phenomenon comes in 8  forms. To learn about them, meet Sarah,  

a 16-year-old who was bullied in school.  When the teacher confronts those responsible,  

they each use one type of moral  disengagement to explain themselves.

Martin is the first to respond. He says:  "I was just trying to toughen her up. The  

world's a harsh place, and if she can't take a  little teasing, how is she going to survive?"  

He uses moral justification to frame his  behavior as a sort of public service.

Eric says: "We were just joking around with her.  It's not a big deal.” Calling bullying "joking  

around," makes it sound more benign than it is,  which is why that's called euphemistic labeling.

Anna says: "Other kids out there  are stealing! We were just having  

fun.” By contrasting her behavior  with things she considers worse,  

she makes her own actions appear fine.  Anna employs advantageous comparison.

Debora is next: “It's not my fault, the others  made me do it!” she says. She plays the victim,  

claiming that she was just following orders.  This is called displacement of responsibility.

Daniel is outraged. “Why am I being singled out?  I'm not the only one! Everyone was doing it!” By  

pointing to the others involved, he's minimizing  his role and thereby diffusing responsibility.

Samuel does not see a problem. “She  is exaggerating, it's not like we are  

monsters who eat people alive.”  Samuel tries to reduce his guilt,  

by downplaying Sarah's feelings  and disregarding consequences.

Hector turns to dehumanization when he  says: “She's a weirdo, and belongs in  

a zoo!” He implies that Sarah is an animal,  and hence less worthy of respect and empathy.

Antony laughs. “If she didn't want to  be made fun of she should not act so  

strange. It's her fault. Do you see what she  wears to school?” Antony is accusing Sarah,  

portraying his actions only as reactive  — that's called attribution of blame.

The teacher realizes what's going on,  he tells each one personally that he  

does not tolerate such behavior in his  class, suspends the 8 bullies for a week,  

and gives them homework for them to  reflect on their lame justifications.

The next week in class, he presents  the 8 principles and explains how moral  

disengagement can lead to an increase  in violence and a reduction in empathy.

The theory was developed by Albert Bandura,  a psychologist best known for his work on  

the social learning theory. On  moral disengagement, he wrote:

"Most people have standards against  which they evaluate the morality of  

their actions. However, such self-sanctions  do not operate unless they are activated.”

What about you? Have you ever used  moral disengagement to justify bad  

behavior? And do you think kids at schools would  

benefit from learning about it? Share  your thoughts in the comments below.

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