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Social cognitive theory of morality

About: Social cognitive theory of morality is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5842 publications have been published within this topic receiving 250337 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Given the many mechanisms for disengaging moral control, civilized life requires, in addition to humane personal standards, safeguards built into social systems that uphold compassionate behavior and renounce cruelty.
Abstract: Moral agency is manifested in both the power to refrain from behaving inhumanely and the proactive power to behave humanely. Moral agency is embedded in a broader sociocognitive self theory encompassing self-organizing, proactive, self-reflective, and self-regulatory mechanisms rooted in personal standards linked to self-sanctions. The self-regulatory mechanisms governing moral conduct do not come into play unless they are activated, and there are many psychosocial maneuvers by which moral self-sanctions are selectively disengaged from inhumane conduct. The moral disengagement may center on the cognitive restructuring of inhumane conduct into a benign or worthy one by moral justification, sanitizing language, and advantageous comparison; disavowal of a sense of personal agency by diffusion or displacement of responsibility; disregarding or minimizing the injurious effects of one's actions; and attribution of blame to, and dehumanization of, those who are victimized. Many inhumanities operate through a supportive network of legitimate enterprises run by otherwise considerate people who contribute to destructive activities by disconnected subdivision of functions and diffusion of responsibility. Given the many mechanisms for disengaging moral control, civilized life requires, in addition to humane personal standards, safeguards built into social systems that uphold compassionate behavior and renounce cruelty.

2,836 citations

Book
01 Jan 1986
TL;DR: The authors evaluated the Defining Issues Test (DIT) developed by Rest and his coworkers and found that formal education is correlated with moral judgment; there is evidence for Kohlberg's higher stages; moral education programs produce modest gains, and, there are no sex differences.
Abstract: This book focuses on a theoretical framework (the Four-Component Model) and evaluations of the Defining Issues Test (DIT) developed by Rest and his coworkers. The authors assess their own work with the DIT and that of hundreds of other investigators. Among their conclusions are: formal education is correlated with moral judgment; there is evidence for Kohlberg's higher stages; moral education programs produce modest gains, and, there are no sex differences. The book is important for libraries wishing a complete collection on moral development. Choice

2,695 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This chapter reviews current theory and research on moral emotions and focuses on a triad of negatively valenced "self-conscious" emotions-shame, guilt, and embarrassment.
Abstract: Moral emotions represent a key element of our human moral apparatus, influencing the link between moral standards and moral behavior This chapter reviews current theory and research on moral emotions We first focus on a triad of negatively valenced “self-conscious” emotions—shame, guilt, and embarrassment As in previous decades, much research remains focused on shame and guilt We review current thinking on the distinction between shame and guilt, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of these two moral emotions Several new areas of research are highlighted: research on the domain-specific phenomenon of body shame, styles of coping with shame, psychobiological aspects of shame, the link between childhood abuse and later proneness to shame, and the phenomena of vicarious or “collective” experiences of shame and guilt In recent years, the concept of moral emotions has been expanded to include several positive emotions—elevation, gratitude, and the sometimes morally relevant experience o

2,141 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined the role of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency and found that it fosters detrimental conduct by reducing prosocialness and anticipatory self-censure and by promoting cognitive and affective reactions conducive to aggression.
Abstract: This research examined the role of mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Regulatory self-sanctions can be selectively disengaged from detrimental conduct by converting harmful acts to moral ones through linkage to worthy purposes, obscuring personal causal agency by diffusion and displacement of responsibility, misrepresenting or disregarding the injurious effects inflicted on others, and vilifying the recipients of maltreatment by blaming and dehumanizing them. The study examined the structure and impact of moral disengagement on detrimental conduct and the psychological processes through which it exerts its effects. Path analyses reveal that moral disengagement fosters detrimental conduct by reducing prosocialness and anticipatory self-censure and by promoting cognitive and affective reactions conducive to aggression. The structure of the paths of influence is very similar for interpersonal aggression and delinquent conduct. Although the various mechanisms of moral disengagement operate in concert, moral reconstruals of harmful conduct by linking it to worthy purposes and vilification of victims seem to contribute most heavily to engagement in detrimental activities. Psychological theories of moral agency focus heavily on moral thought to the neglect of moral conduct. The limited attention to moral conduct reflects both the rationalistic bias of many theories of morality (Kohlberg, 1984) and the convenience of investigatory method. It is much easier to examine how people reason about hypothetical moral dilemmas than to study how they behave in difficult life predicaments. People suffer from the wrongs done to them, regardless of how perpetrators might justify their inhumane actions. The regulation of conduct involves much more than moral reasoning. A theory of morality must specify the mechanisms by which people come to live in accordance with moral standards. In social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1991), moral reasoning is translated into actions through self-regulatory mechanisms through which moral agency is exercised. In the course of socialization , moral standards are constructed from information conveyed by direct tuition, evaluative social reactions to one's conduct, and exposure to the selfevaluative standards modeled by others. Once formed, such standards serve as guides and deterrents for action. People regulate their actions by the consequences they apply to them

2,009 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202393
2022161
202121
202010
201948
201872