Why do even good people do bad things? ~ Bengt Daleflod, Johan Björkehed
Albert Bandura was a Canadian-American psychologist. He was born in 1925 and passed away in 2021. He was a professor of social science in psychology at Stanford University. Bandura was one of the most influential psychologists in world history. Bandura ranks as the fourth most prominent psychologist of the 20th century, behind B.F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud.
Albert Bandura became known for his studies of aggression in children and young people, his work with social learning, social cognitive theory and the concept of self-efficacy. The “Bobo Doll Experiments” are legendary. Social learning theory in particular has had an enormous impact on the development of psychology. Bandura’s groundbreaking research was also a major source of inspiration for Arnold Goldstein’s development of psychoeducational treatment methods.
One of the last contributions that Bandura introduced was the theory of moral disengagement. This theory is an important contribution to the moral training we conduct within the framework of PREPSEC. There is also a considerable amount of research that supports the validity of Albert Bandura’s model of moral disengagement. The theory has been applied to several areas for such diverse things as unethical behavior in the workplace, bullying, psychopathy and sexual crimes, violence against animals and delinquency.
The model of moral disengagement can be illustrated in the following way:
Description of the components of the model of moral disengagement
- Moral justification
Making harmful behavior acceptable by portraying the act as having a moral purpose.
“I did it for a higher purpose, in the name of religion”, “I stole because I have a family to feed” - Euphemistic labeling
Dress up with words to make it sound better
“I don’t kill, I put animals to sleep” - Advantageous comparison
Depends on what you compare it to
“I just stole a car; he killed a man” - Displacement of responsibility
Someone else is responsible.
“I just followed orders” - Diffusion of responsibility
We all did it, it was a group decision
“Everyone does it” “we shared the money” - Disregard of consequences
Ignore or minimize the harmful effects.
“Tobacco is not dangerous” ” I stole because they are rich” - Dehumanization
Inferior humans can be tortured or killed
“After all, he was stupid” - Attribution of blame
They have themselves to blame
“She asked for it”
Comparison with the morale training in ART/AART
It is basically a total overlap of the cognitive distortions that we work with in the moral training in ART. What is added to Bandura’s model is an expanded reasoning about responsibility and the aspect of dehumanization of the victim. What is called cognitive anchoring in the ART program is not included in Bandura’s model. This cognitive anchoring means that one is reluctant to change one’s position despite overwhelming evidence.
What is so advantageous about Bandura’s model is that it is visualized in a very educational way. One can clearly analyze which moral thought traps are used to rationalize disgraceful behavior. If you start from the reprehensible behavior, you can see what consequences it leads to and in what way it affects the victim. In each part, one can analyze which thought patterns are used to justify the reprehensible behavior.
The cognitive distortions in ART
A central part of moral training is to identify and challenge cognitive distortions. These so-called thought traps cause us to misunderstand or describe situations in a way that is not appropriate. By learning to detect these thought patterns, one can adopt new perspectives and test alternative ways of interpreting situations that have arisen.
- Self-centeredness: The individual’s own needs are most important. “Me first”,
- Assuming the worst: They attribute hostile intentions to other people. “Others want to mess with me”
- Blaming others: Blaming outsiders. “It’s not my fault”.
- Trivialize and mislabeling: They downplay the consequences of their reprehensible behavior. “Not a big deal, we just wanted to joke a little”
- False consensus: Everyone does and thinks the same. “You would have done the same”
- Cognitive anchorin:; Unwillingness to change despite strong arguments. “I don’t change”
Antisocial thought patterns
An immature moral development leads to cognitive distortions (so-called “thought traps”). How we perceive and interpret what is happening in the world around us depends on these basic “thought filters”. We humans have an inexhaustible ability to invent arguments to justify our behaviors. The thought patterns that are most prominent for individuals who behave aggressively and criminally are that they act self-centered, read hostile intentions into others, blame, trivialize, have weak social problem-solving skills, lack empathy and see criminal behavior as something harmless. Individuals who are using a lot of aggressiveness are more likely to interpret events maliciously. They are therefore more easily offended and hostile. Criminal and antisocial individuals think criminally and usually have an egocentric view of morality. Those who commit crimes do so because they see it as an acceptable act.
Is it possible to influence moral reasoning?
It is important that children are given the opportunity early in life to develop morality, empathy, impulse control, and social and emotional skills. It is necessary to understand that core beliefs are learned early in life in the context in which one grows up.
If an individual grows up in an unsafe environment of violence, neglect, abuse, and mistreatment, it becomes important to maintain a high degree of vigilance in order to react quickly to signs of danger. We also know that families who have children with serious behavioral problems function less well and to a greater extent raise their children with punishment, inconsistency and lack of warmth and care.
Morality develops primarily through social learning. Parents, relatives, peers and the surrounding norm culture are crucial ingredients for this development. Psychological and cognitive development is also important for our moral reasoning. The ability to take perspective develops in stages from egoistic to altruistic thinking. The individual thus has the opportunity to make his own moral decisions.
Many studies show that there is a strong correlation between immature morality, antisocial behavior and crime. There is a big difference in morality between non-criminals and criminals. Antisocial adolescents usually have a delayed moral development and more cognitive distortions than control groups. Anti-social values are a very strong risk factor for a continued criminal career. Research also shows a strong correlation between immature morality and recidivism.
Moral reasoning and cognitive restructuring are thus important treatment goals. Early adolescence is the optimal time for the promotion of moral competence. Research shows that moral training can affect attitudes, but that this does not automatically lead to a change in behavior. It seems that moral attitudes do not automatically transform into moral behavior. Traditional moral training in discussion forums has not proven to be very effective. The conclusion is that change in attitudes and moral reasoning must be transformed and manifested in actual behaviors! This is an important goal in moral training!
In AART, we also use positive character traits. Positive qualities such as honesty, respect, courage and helpfulness are transformed into actual behaviors. Good personality traits translate into concrete actions that can be applied in real life, starting with practice through homework assignments.
Bandura’s theory has a wider application
Bandura amplifies his theory of moral disengagement, arguing that we can use psychological knowledge to save the world. Humanity is facing major challenges in the form of rapid population growth, climate change and irreparable damage to the ecosystem. If we are to build a sustainable society of the future, we must own our moral responsibility and not hide behind excuses. This means that we need to drastically change our behaviors and lifestyles. We need more fundamental lifestyle changes than switching to more efficient light bulbs.
Albert Bandura states: If we want to create a world for coming generations, we have to engage in ecologically responsible behaviors based on moral engagement”.
Learn more on Albert Bandura’s thoughts, articles and his model ”Mechanisms of moral disengagement” at http://moraldisengagement.com