Moral disengagement

• Bandura


  When we are young we learn our moral standards through socialisation,which guides our behaviour
• Most of the time people follow these moral standards,if we dont our self-esteem would suffer
• Moral disengagement is when the moral system breaks downs,we ignore or turn off our moral standard temporarily so we can do things without feeling guilty
• When our moral system is turned off,we convince ourselves the rules dont apply to us
• Its a gradual process,using strategies little by little and start to feel less bad the more you go against our morals
• Bullies use cognitive restructuring to change they way they think,they downplay their behaviour and may see it as 'toughening others up'
• Bullies will also use language such as 'I was just joking',to justify their behaviour,social justification
• Bullies will also compare their behaviour to things much worse so their behaviour seems less harmful
• Bullies minimise their role in bullying,usually blaming the school for allowing the bullying to happen
• The ringleaders of a group will blame the shift away from them and onto their friends,on-one is fully responsible
• Bullies will tell themselves someone else is more to blame than they are
• Bullies will ignore/distort the consequences of their actions by distancing themselves from the harm by;ignoring it,downplaying it or misinterpreting it
• Bullies will find it easier to ignore the consequences when the victim isnt around and take advantage when victims hide their suffering
• Bullies also dehumanise or blame the victim,they believe the victim is less human or more deserving of bullying
• Bullies may see the victim as less valuable and less important
• Bullies believe bullying isnt bad if the victim is seen as less popular or different