Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement and Prisoner Abuse

Abstract Bandura's research and theory on the mechanisms of moral disengagement demonstrate the various ways that persons distance themselves from their mistreatment of others to avoid or circumvent ethical constraints that should and otherwise would govern their behavior. This article examines the serious problem of prisoner abuse through the lens of moral disengagement theory to understand in part why such abuse occurs and persists. This application of moral disengagement theory underscores the importance of addressing these social psychological dynamics in any program of prison reform and the need for further research in a setting that traditionally has resisted in‐depth empirical examination.