RT Article
T1 Development and validation of a general legal moral disengagement scale
JF Psychology, crime & law
VO 27
IS 8
SP 751
OP 778
A1 Kirshenbaum, Jacqueline M.
A2 Miller, Monica K.
A2 Kaplan, Tatyana
A2 Cramer, Robert J.
A2 Trescher, Sarah A.
A2 Neal, Tess M. S.
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1768385335
AB Current moral disengagement (MD) scales are insufficient for measuring MD in general legal contexts. We created a general legal MD scale measuring moral disengagement from both minor and serious crime, and both one’s own and others’ immoral behavior. We conducted both an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, which resulted in five factors: (1) authoritarian punishment, (2) personal minor transgressions, (3) harm minimization, (4) euphemistic labeling, and (5) dehumanization. Supporting convergent validity, the scale related to four other MD scales that pertain to either general or specific legal contexts (e.g. the execution process). Supporting divergent validity, the scale was unrelated to political locus of control. The scale also significantly and predictably related to several individual differences including social dominance orientation, legal authoritarianism, attributional complexity, and just world beliefs. Last, the new MD scale predicted legal attitudes that moral disengagement should be related to. Specifically, the new MD scale predicted attitudes toward controversial police procedures (i.e. controversial warrants and interrogation techniques) and policies (e.g., immigrant ban).
K1 legal issues
K1 controversial police procedures
K1 Legal attitudes
K1 Scale validation
K1 Moral Disengagement
DO 10.1080/1068316X.2020.1850722