Moral disengagement mechanisms predict cyber aggression among emerging adults

Abstract

The Internet has given rise to many new communication tools (e.g., social media, text messaging), which, while beneficial in many respects, have become a means for aggressing against others. As evidence of the adverse correlates of cyber aggression mounts, improved understanding of the mechanisms that facilitate electronic aggression is needed. Moral disengagement (i.e., cognitive processes through which individuals disengage from their moral values) has been shown to predict cyber aggression when assessed as a unitary construct. The present study investigated the eight moral disengagement mechanisms measured by the Moral Disengagement Measure (Detert et al., 2008) and their relationships to four types of cyber aggression perpetration assessed with the Cyberbullying Experiences Survey (i.e., malice, public humiliation, deception, and unwanted contact; Doane et al., 2013). Emerging adults (N = 404, 58.67% women) aged 18 to 29 (M = 25.16, SD = 2.76) recruited through Amazon.com’s MTurk website completed measures online, and data were analyzed via path analysis. Each type of cyber aggression perpetration was predicted by different moral disengagement mechanisms. Advantageous comparison and dehumanization were the strongest predictors, and dehumanization was the only mechanism to predict all forms of cyber aggression. These findings provide support for the role of these mechanisms in cyber aggression and suggest that examining moral disengagement mechanisms individually may help to improve our understanding of cyber aggression among emerging adults. Further clinical and research implications are discussed.

Virtual work conditions impact negative work behaviors via ambiguity, anonymity, and (un)accountability: An integrative review.

“…For example, perceptions of anonymity increased after individuals socially distanced themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic, as did their cyberbullying behavior (Barlett et al, 2021). Virtual settings also contribute to the dehumanization (i.e., depriving a person or group of human qualities; Bandura, 2016) of victims, which is a predictor of multiple forms of cyber-aggression (Nocera et al, 2022). In addition, VNWB offenses occur distant from the victim (e.g., disparaging comments posted online without the target's direct knowledge), which allows perpetrators to view the act as victimless (Wall, 2005), decreasing their sense of accountability.…”

“…The mechanisms of moral disengagement have unique influences on different forms of cyber-aggression (Nocera et al, 2022).…”

“…5Cyber-aggression is defined as “intentional harm delivered by the use of electronic means to a person or group of people irrespective of their age, who perceive(s) such acts as offensive, derogatory, harmful, or unwanted” (Grigg, 2010, p. 152). Inconsistent terminology used to describe overlapping constructs (e.g., cyberbullying, electronic aggression) has made it difficult to compare results across studies (Bauman & Baldasare, 2015; Nocera et al, 2022). Due to this, and similar to traditional aggression (see Zhong et al, 2022), cyber-aggression is now used as an umbrella term for multiple forms of aggressive behavior that occur in virtual environments (e.g., cyber-bullying, cyber-harassment, cyber-abuse, cyberstalking, trolling).…”

Psychometric Properties of the Moral Disengagement through Technologies Questionnaire (MDTech-Q) in a Sample of Chilean University Students

“…On the one hand, they favor the formation of friendships, reduce feelings of loneliness, offer social support, and lift a person’s mood; on the other, there are hostile and hate-filled comments, self-denigrating comparisons and aggressions that are part of the risks that could emerge when using these communication tools [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Moral disengagement (MD) has been related to different aggressive behaviors in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies; however, greater evidence is required on the role of MD through technology [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

“…In the case of the spectators in cyberbullying, the mechanisms of MD and moral justification are related to passive observation [ 33 , 34 ]. Therefore, MD favors the understanding of the cognitive mechanisms that promote the appearance of negative behaviors online such as bullying [ 14 ].…”