Offenders reframe themselves as scapegoats of regulators to deny responsibility.

Evidence

Using the “bad apples” exoneration, Keating attributed the savings and loans collapse to a few “miscreants” in the industry who were mismanaged by the regulators. He alleged that the “miscreants” had singled him out as a scapegoat to intimidate others in the industry: “The government is doing a fantastic job in making an example of me for everybody else to shut up.” — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1409

Categorization

• DEFINE: Concretely exemplifies the ‘bad apples’ exoneration mechanism of moral disengagement.
• XREF: connects to: Desire to punish offenders should amplify the denial of their agency.