Abstract moral values fail to distinguish delinquents from nondelinquents

Evidence

Moral disengagement contributes to level of delinquency both directly and mediationally through its influence on the disinhibitory processes described above. In tests of alternative causal paths, the theory that moral disengagement drives the disinhibitory processes fits well with the empirical findings. The alternative theory—that weak prosocialness, low guilt, moral disengagement, and delinquent behavior are simply effects of proneness to aggression—is not supported by the findings. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 271 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Virtuous character does not yield consistent moral behavior across situations — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 202; Binding moral constraints depend on social integration, not abstract principle — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1648; Moral disengagement causally drives delinquency through disinhibitory processes rather than my being its byproduct — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 271 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Moral disengagement causally drives delinquency through disinhibitory processes rather than my being its byproduct #complicates (0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 271