Am J Crim Just (2015) 40:205–224
DOI 10.1007/s12103-015-9293-7
A Theoretical Integration of Social Learning Theory
with Terror Management Theory: Towards
an Explanation of Police Shootings of Unarmed Suspects
Jon Maskaly & Christopher M. Donner
Received: 9 December 2014 / Accepted: 5 February 2015 /
Published online: 17 February 2015
# Southern Criminal Justice Association 2015
Abstract Each year in the United States, an unknown number of individuals are shot
by law enforcement officers. Many of the suspects shot by officers are suspects who
pose a lethal threat to officers or others, and thus the officers were legally justified in
using deadly force. However, some estimates indicate that as many as 40 % of those
shot by law enforcement each year are unarmed at the time of the encounter (Roy,
2004). Here, we present a theoretical model that integrates a traditional criminological
theory (social learning theory) and a social psychological theory (terror management
theory) in an effort to explain police shootings of unarmed suspects. Independently,
neither theory can effectively or consistently explain the phenomena. However, when
the two theories are integrated, a strong conceptual base is developed for explaining
law enforcement shootings of unarmed suspects.
Keywords Deadly force . Terror management theory . Social learning theory . Theoretical
integration
One of the most controversial topics in law enforcement is the use of force against
members of the general public. This controversy is further exacerbated when considering the use of deadly force. Although police shootings are believed to occur infrequently, it is difficult to determine exactly how many police shootings there are
annually as no national data are available. Some research indicates that in 2007 there
were 391 fatal officer-involved shootings (Johnson, 2008). Fatal shootings are likely
the easiest type of law enforcement shooting to record because there is a body
J. Maskaly (*)
Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., M/
C 141, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
e-mail: jonmaskaly@gmail.com
C. M. Donner
Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Loyola University Chicago, 820 North Michigan Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60611, USA
e-mail: cdonner@luc.edu
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associated with the shooting. Other researchers have attempted to create a rate-ofoccurrence index for police shootings, and they have determined that there are approximately 4.1 shootings1 for every 1000 officers in a department (Fridell & Binder, 1992).
Although these statistics were generated in 1992, if the general trend were to hold
through time this would translate to approximately 3500 total police shootings annually.2 Other research indicates that within one region in Florida, approximately 40 % of
all persons that police officers shot at were unarmed (Roy, 2004). While this statistic
represents a very small portion of the United States, if a similar trend were observed
nationwide it would translate into more than 1000 unarmed people shot at by the police
annually.
There have been several recent high-profile incidents of police officers
shooting unarmed suspects in the United States. Two prominent examples of
police shooting unarmed suspects occurred in 2014. The first example is the
shooting death of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri on
August 9, 2014. While the events that led up to the shooting are widely
contested, it is clear that Michael Brown was shot six times by Officer
Darren Wilson. The second example involves the case of Tamir Rice who
was shot and killed by an officer from the Cleveland, Ohio Police
Department on November 22, 2014. The officers received a call indicating that
there was an African-American male in a city park brandishing a firearm,
although the caller noted that the firearm was likely fake. Again, the sequence
of events after the officers arrived on the scene is unclear, but what is clear is
that one of the officers fired two shots at Tamir Rice within seconds of arriving
on scene. In the wake of the shooting, investigators noted that Tamir Rice was
carrying a toy gun—one that had the orange safety tip removed—with him at
the time officers made contact with him in the park. Further, the officer stated
that Rice was reaching for the gun in his waistband as the officers arrived on
scene.
It is worth noting that these are not the only two high profile incidents of
police shooting unarmed suspects. Two of the most infamous examples involve
the New York City Police Department. The first is the case of African immigrant Amadou Diallo, who was shot at 41 times—with 19 rounds striking
him—by NYPD officers on February 4, 1999. Diallo was shot because he
was reaching into his pockets for something and refused to follow the officers’
verbal commands. A subsequent investigation revealed that Diallo was reaching
for his wallet and likely did not comply with the officers commands because he
did not speak English (Morrison, 2000). The second example is the case of
Sean Bell, who was shot and killed on November 25, 2006. After exiting a
night club, several plain-clothes detectives attempted to prevent the car that Bell
and two friends were riding in from leaving the club, believing there was a gun
in the vehicle. Officers claimed that the driver of the vehicle tried to run them
over (Fernandez, 2008). Officers opened fire, striking the three occupants of the
1
This includes shooting and killing a suspect, shooting a wounding a suspect, and shooting and missing a
suspect.
2
Obtained using Bureau of Labor Statistic (2008–2009) Occupational Outlook Handbook estimates that there
were 861, 000 police officers in the United States in 2009.
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vehicle a total of 50 times, and subsequently killing Bell. No gun was located
in the vehicle or on the three men. Although both of these examples stem from
the New York City Police Department, the problem is far from being isolated to
this city or this agency. Similar shootings have occurred in other locations, such
as California (McKinley, 2009) and Florida (Anderson & Brink, 2005).
When law enforcement executives and members of the public attempt to
understand why police officers shoot unarmed suspects, there seems to be a
general disconnect in the logic. There are stringent legal standards and agency
policies in place dictating the necessary elements for officers to discharge their
weapons. Many departments have adopted, or incorporated, the so-called
Bdeadly force triangle 3^ into their use of deadly force policy (Olson, 1998).
The triangle specifies that, in order to use deadly force, an officer needs a
suspect who has: 1) the opportunity and 2) the ability to cause great bodily
harm or death to the officer or others. Additionally, the suspect must 3) pose an
Bimminent danger.^ Yet, as can be seen from the Diallo and Bell cases, not all
of these elements were satisfied. This begs the question Bwhy are police
officers using deadly force in these situations?^ A potential explanation lies
within the police subculture. The police subculture is designed to serve a
multitude of functions; one of the more important functions of the subculture,
for the discussion at hand, is self-preservation. Researchers have noted that
police officers are trained to see every person and every situation as potentially
dangerous (e.g., Herbert, 1998; Skolnick & Fyfe, 1993; Van Maanen, 1974).
This mentality leads to the documented Bus versus them^ phenomenon, in
which law enforcement officers are seen as inherently good while the remainder
of society is seen as potentially dangerous. This belief system is reinforced
each time that a police officer is injured or killed in the line of duty, strengthening the officers’ belief in the dangerousness of society. This reinforcement
also serves to emphasize the legitimacy of the police subculture. Next, we
outline SLT and TMT, as well as discuss how an integration of these two
theories could explain police shootings of unarmed suspects.
Social Learning Theory
Akers devised social learning theory (SLT) as an extension of differential
association theory (DAT) by condensing the concepts from DAT into two
concepts and adding an additional two concepts from behavioral learning theory
(Akers, 2009). The two condensed concepts taken from Sutherland were broadly defined as differential associations and definitions. The two concepts that
were added from other learning theories (e.g., Miller & Dollard, 1941) were
differential reinforcement and imitation (Akers, 2009). The basic assumption of
SLT is that the same learning process which is used to learn socially acceptable
behavior is also utilized when people learn criminal/deviant behavior (Burgess
& Akers, 1966). The full effect of each these concepts are explored below.
3
Olson is the first to spell out the policy in publicly available literature, and he admits that he does not
remember the exact origins of the use of force triangle concept.
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Differential Associations
SLT posits that a person will be more likely to commit a crime if he 4
differentially associates with persons who commit, model, and support violations of laws or social norms (Akers, 2009). Association is loosely defined by
communication and interaction between two or more people. Akers (2009)
identifies two primary types of interactions to which people might be subjected:
behavioral (or interactional) and normative. Behavioral interaction is described
as direct exposure to people with deviant behavioral tendencies. Normative
interactions are described as a type of passive exposure where people are
exposed to values and norms that are conducive to delinquent behavior.
Recall that the effects of differential associations are believed to be moderated
by four modalities of the interactions (Sutherland, 1947). Specifically the
associations are moderated by, 1) frequency, 2) duration, 3) priority, and 4)
intensity. Akers (2009) highlights that early in life these modalities are primarily associated with peer and friend groups. Later in life, these modalities
expand to include spouses and members of working groups.
Differential Reinforcement
Akers (2009) indicates that when deviant behavior is differentially reinforced
over conforming behavior, deviance is more likely to occur. It is believed that
there are three primary reinforcement factors that will increase the likelihood of
a behavior: 1) the higher the amount of the perceived reward, 2) the more
frequently the behavior is rewarded and, 3) the greater the probability that the
behavior will be rewarded. Akers (2009) identifies two distinct primary types of
reinforcers: nonsocial and social. Nonsocial reinforcers (either positive or negative) occur within one’s self. Social reinforcers, however, are not exclusively
the positive or negative reaction of others present when one engages in a
particular behavior, but also the whole gamut of things that society and other
subgroups value (e.g., money), including things that are highly symbolic (e.g.,
status and respect; Akers, 2009).
Imitation
A person who observes more delinquent than non-delinquent models is also
more likely to be delinquent (Akers, 2009). Modeling behavior occurs when a
person observes and then emulates the behavior of others. People who observe
the behaviors of others that they admire or respect are particularly susceptible
to the influence of the model and are more likely to engage in similar
behaviors (Bladwin & Baldwin, 1981). Modeling has its strongest influence
on a person’s initial decision to engage in delinquent behavior, and although it
has an influence on continuation and cessation of behaviors, the effect is not as
pronounced (Akers, 2009).
4
Note, he is used throughout the paper; this is not to suggest that only men will commit crime or are affected
by SLT, but rather is used for simplicity sake.
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Definitions
A person is more likely to commit delinquent acts when he has learned definitions
favorable towards delinquent acts; likewise, the more that one’s own attitudes reflect
disapproval of a particular behavior, the less likely one is to engage in it (Akers, 2009).
Each of the three previous concepts works to create definitions that are more favorable
toward delinquent acts. Akers (2009) identifies three types of definitions that people
may form which make offending more or less likely; only two, however, have bearing
on the present discussion. The first is a positive definition, where a person has attitudes
that are favorable towards deviant acts. The second definition is a neutralizing definition, whereby a person engages in delinquent acts, not because they see them as
positive, but rather because they can justify or excuse the behavior. This type of
definition is commonly associated with negative reinforcement schemes. Here, a person
learns to escape the negative consequences of their behavior by justifying the behavior
as morally correct.
Connecting Policing and SLT
Although the Chappell and Piquero (2004) study is the only study which directly tests
SLT on law enforcement officers, there is a multitude of support for why the four
different SLT concepts apply to police officers in general. Each of the four SLT
variables work to create a police subculture. This subculture then serves as a platform
for teaching and reinforcing police behavior. The behaviors that are taught and reinforced using this subculture are designed to protect law enforcement officers from
harm, both from those wishing to do physical harm and harmful decisions of a
punishment-centered upper-management. It is important to note that although these
variables can be linked to the creation of a (deviant) police subculture, the variables
alone cannot explain police shootings of unarmed suspects.
Differential Associations
Both police officers within organizations and researchers alike acknowledge the existence of a police subculture (Conser, 1980). The police subculture is designed to help
officers deal with the sense of isolation that they feel from society (Alpert & Dunham,
1997). The sense of isolation is created by the powerful Bus vs. them^ mentality that is
prevalent among many law enforcement officers (Rubenstein, 1973; Sparrow, Moore,
& Kennedy, 1990; Tauber, 1970). As such, police officers often turn to other officers
for moral support (Alpert & Dunham, 1997). The social interactions between officers
and the subculture lead many officers to act in a manner that the peer group will
approve of in order to develop a positive self-concept (Conser, 1980). Officers, thus, are
likely to adopt cultural norms, of which, other officers will approve. Research indicates
that the police subculture is so powerful and prevalent that officers are bound to adopt it
(Skolnick, 1966).5
5
It is important to note that some researchers do not believe that all police officers adopt the same subculture;
in one specific study, results indicate that only 25 % of law enforcement officers become what are termed
Bsub-cultural adherents^ (Cochran & Bromley, 2003).
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Definitions
Police officers hold several definitions that may be favorable to shooting a
suspect given the right circumstances. Many officers mistakenly hold the belief
that policing is about action, adventure, excitement, and the use of force
(Brown, Maidmont, & Bull, 1993; Fletcher, 1996; Holdaway & Parker, 1998).
The policing subculture, thus, respects aggressive, authoritative, and Btakecharge^ personalities of officers (Cochran & Bromley, 2003). Furthermore,
nearly every police situation is seen as potentially dangerous, and every person
is viewed with suspicion (Van Maanen, 1974). The confluence of the allegorical
beliefs as to the role of police officers, the action orientation that is respected
by other officers, and the inherent danger and untrustworthiness of all citizens
work to create positive definitions towards using force against members of
society.
The definitions that officers create are passed down from one Bgeneration^ of
police officers to the next. Research indicates that once officers adopt the police
subculture, it provides an ideal medium to pass attitudes, beliefs, and values to
the incoming generation of law enforcement officers (Kappeler, Sluder, &
Alpert, 1994). Research also indicates that the police subculture is designed
to create and maintain a normative order for the officers (Herbert, 1998). This
normative order has been found to be similar to the definitional component of
SLT, as originally conceived by Burgess and Akers and some researchers have
used it as such (e.g., Ahern, 1972).
Differential Reinforcement
The subculture of policing has such a powerful effect on officers that it can
reinforce deviant behavior (Conser, 1980). In fact, some researchers have gone
so far as to say that one of the most powerful motivators within a police
agency is the peer influence exerted by other members of the subgroup (Alpert
& Dunham, 1997). One of the roles of the police subculture is to protect
officers from punishment-centered upper-management (Waddington, 1999).
Officers often perceive that upper-management is attempting to punish them
for Bminor^ procedural errors (Walker, 1977).
This fear of a punishment-centered upper-management is contrasted with the reinforcing structure of other police officers and the police subculture. New police officers
gain status, reputation, and respect from other officers for their use of force (Brown &
Sargent, 1995). The police subculture is one of masculinity through which
aggression, violence, danger, risk taking, and engaging in courageous acts is
rewarded by one’s peers (Waddington, 1999). Therefore, officers are differentially reinforced by different groups within the organization for the same
behavior. They are positively and socially reinforced (as defined by Akers,
2009) by their peers within the police subculture, which is likely to lead to
positive definitions for engaging in delinquent acts (e.g., shooting unarmed
suspects). This is juxtaposed against the heavy-handed and punishmentcentered policies of upper-management, which, as Akers (2009) states, is likely
to lead to neutralizing definitions that are favorable toward deviance.
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Imitation
This is the most challenging of the SLT concepts to apply to police officers –
so much so that Chappell and Piquero (2004) did not include imitation as a
variable in their study. However, based on the training methods of law enforcement, it is plausible to assume modeling behavior occurs at work. Currently,
most police agencies in the United States utilize some form of Field Training
Officer (FTO) program (Pitts, Glensor, & Peak, 2007). Many of these training
programs are based on the original San Jose, CA FTO program, designed by
Zwemke and Roberts in 1972 (San Jose Police Department, 2009). In an FTO
program, a rookie officer begins his career by observing the actions of the
training officer and assisting where possible or acting under the guidance of the
trainer where appropriate. Throughout the course of the program, the new
officer is progressively given more responsibility to act as a police officer with
the Bsafety net^ of an experienced officer. Although the academic literature
seems to neglect the fact that FTO’s can act as role models, the professional
literature does not. For example, the California Police Officer Standards and
Training Commission requests recruits who are finishing an FTO program to
provide an overall evaluation of the program. One of the evaluation components asks officers to rate their FTO on the quality of role model that they
believe him to be for new officers (California Police Officer Standards and
Training Commission, 2004).
Furthermore, the FTO programs allow and encourage new officers to integrate into the policing culture. New officers are frequently rated by their FTO
(in many cases once per shift) by the subjective perceptions of the FTO. That
is, if the new officer does not alter his behavior to the FTO’s subjective
expectations, which are likely based on the way the FTO would have handled
the situation, the new officer will be poorly evaluated. It is necessary to have
positive evaluations throughout the FTO program in order to maintain employment as a police officer.
Summary of SLT and Policing
The information presented herein makes a case for the applicability of SLT to police
officers and, perhaps, even to police shootings of unarmed suspects. The method of
transmission of learning is through the policing subculture. The officers are differentially reinforced by the members of their subculture who reward them for behaving in a
particular manner. Officers obtain their definitions about many things in their
world from the subculture, especially in regard to the trustworthiness and
dangerousness of members of the public. Lastly, at the inception of their career,
officers are strongly encouraged to model their behavior after that of a more
seasoned officer under the threat of termination for non-conformity. The ultimate question that remains is not why law enforcement officers shoot unarmed
suspects, as this can be reasonably explained through SLT. The bigger question
is why officers only shoot some of these suspects and not others. The explanation for this lies in Greenberg, Pyzczynski, and Solomon’s (1986) Terror
Management Theory.
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Terror Management Theory
Terror Management Theory (TMT), an extension of much of the work of Ernest Becker
(1962), posits that much of what happens in human life is based on the denial of one’s
own mortality (Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 2003). All creatures, including
humans, engage in actions that are directed toward self-preservation; however, humans
are the only animal that is uniquely aware of their own inevitable death (Pyszczynski
et al., 2003). In fact, humans are the only animal that can project and imagine their own
death, the thought of which causes B…potentially overwhelming terror at virtually any
given moment^ (Pyszczynski et al., 2003, p.16). In order to protect from the terror of
the inevitability of our own death, humans form a cultural worldview (Pyszczynski
et al., 2003).
The purpose of the cultural worldview is to distract humans from the terror that is
essentially caused by the thought of their inevitable death. Greenberg, Pyszczynski, and
Solomon (1986) advise that the cultural worldview created serves to inform humans
that they live in a world of value and are, thus, differentially situated than other
creatures. This cultural worldview also serves to allow humans to transcend their
own mortality by allowing a person to feel as if he is part of a meaningful world and
is contributing to that world in an important manner (Pyszczynski et al., 2003). There
are two primary beliefs upon which TMT is founded. First, subscribing to a cultural
worldview gives people a sense of order, stability, and permanence in their lives.
Second, people must feel that they are valuable contributors to that worldview, which
creates their reality (Pyszczynski et al., 2003). If these two elements are present,
individuals are able to deny that they are merely creatures who are on Earth for a finite
amount of time and are simply awaiting their own death.
There are two major problems not accounted for by the creation of a worldview.
First, there are several different cultures and competing worldviews. The threat posed
by others possessing a different cultural worldview makes a person question one’s own
worldview and undermining it on some level (Pyszczynski et al., 2003). Second, no
cultural worldview can completely insulate a person from the thoughts of his own
eventual death (Becker, 1975); this fear that can never really be removed is then
projected onto an outside group or object (Pyszczynski et al., 2003). However, there
are strategies that have been identified as possible methods of resolving the problems
associated with competing worldviews and the fact that the thought of mortality can
never be fully removed.
Pyszczynski et al. (2003) identify five distinct types of solutions, which someone
could implement in order to resolve the problems of uncertainty in their worldview. The
authors do not indicate which solution is most likely, although it seems that certain
solutions are more likely than others. The solutions seem to be presented in two
different forms: passive (requiring little or no direct action by the person) and active
(requiring a substantial undertaking of action).
The first passive solution is conversion, whereby a person will simply adopt the
worldview of another. This is most likely to occur when a person is not getting the
validation that he needs and desires from his original worldview. Examples of this are
religious conversions, in which people adopt a distinct religion based on the higher
appeal of the new religion over the old one. The second passive solution is assimilation,
whereby a person is asked by other people to set aside his Boutlandish^ worldview and
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accept the dominant worldview. This is typically the result of physical proximity to
another dominant cultural worldview. Pyszczynski et al. (2003) indicate there is a
psychological boost given to one’s worldview when a large number of people accept it;
in essence, people judge the ultimate validity of their worldview based on the number
of others that subscribe to it as well. The final passive solution is accommodation,
whereby a person accepts the appealing parts of a contrary worldview into his own
worldview while simultaneously excluding those parts that they do not care for.6
The active solutions, however, require a person to engage in more drastic behavioral
changes. The first active solution is derogation, whereby members of a worldview
disparage those who ascribe to different worldviews. By demeaning others with
dissimilar views, the threat they pose is somehow neutralized. Examples of this are
seen in the sweeping pejorative generalizations made by one cultural group towards
another (e.g., Ball black people are lazy^). The second type of active solution is the
most extreme: annihilation. This solution indicates that a person will try to eliminate
the threat posed toward his worldview by eliminating those with competing worldviews. Pyszczynski et al. (2003) discuss this solution to the presence of multiple
worldviews; although it is an extreme solution, it is also the most effective solution
and one of the most frequently observed. Lifton (1979) writes, BWars and prosecutions
are, at bottom, expressions of rivalry between contending claims to immortality and
ultimate spiritual power^ (p. 315). This type of solution can be seen throughout the
history of the world, including the Civil War in the United States, as well as World War
II. Modern examples include some of the violent gang wars in South Los Angeles
(among other urban areas) and the War on Terror currently being fought in the Middle
East. Annihilation is the principle response for the purposes of this integration.
There are two distinct hypotheses that are derived from TMT. The first is that B…
when people believe that they are objects of value in a world of meaning they should be
able to function securely^ (Pyszczynski et al., 2003, p, 39). Essentially, Pyszczynski
and his colleagues argue that self-esteem insulates a person from the terror he feels
from knowing he is inevitably going to die. This hypothesis has been tested and
sustained in various contexts (for a review see Pyszczynski et al., 2003). The second
hypothesis states that reminders of one’s own death (through a process known as a
mortality salience prime) should make a person rally around, and more zealously
defend, his worldview (Greenberg et al., 1986). This hypothesis is the more popular
of the two; with more than 100 studies testing and further sustaining the veracity of the
hypothesis (see generally Pyszczynski et al., 2003). For the purposes of this integration,
we will exclusively focus on the second hypothesis.
General Research on TMT
The very first test of TMT was conducted utilizing 22 municipal court judges in
Tucson, Arizona (Rosenblatt, Greenberg, Solomon, Pyszczynski, & Lyon, 1989).
Specifically, the judges were asked to set the bond amount for a prostitute that came
into court; half the judges were in a control condition and half were in a mortality
6
The primary example given by Pyszczynski et al. (2003) is the Hippie Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s,
where some members of the mainstream society adopted the music and fashion of the competing cultural
worldview.
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salience prime condition. The mortality salience prime was accomplished through the
use of a new open-ended measure in which participants were asked to describe, in their
own words, what physically happened to them when they died as well as the emotions
that they associated with their own death. The results revealed that the judges in the
mortality salience prime condition were substantially more punitive (setting an
average bond of $455) than the judges in the control condition (setting an
average bond of $50). Furthermore, results from a mood inventory filled out by
the judges in the mortality salience prime condition revealed that the judges in
this condition were not emotionally distraught about thinking about their own
death. Rosenblatt et al. (1989), in an attempt to make the results more generalizable, conducted the same experiment but substituted undergraduates for
judges. The results were consistent with those observed for the judges with
one exception. The higher bonds were set by persons who had a negative view
of prostitution within the mortality salience prime condition; yet, these participants still acknowledged that they were not upset after thinking about their
own death.
In order to determine if the results that Rosenblatt et al. (1989) observed were an
effect of the negative perceptions of prostitutes, and criminals in general, they
conducted an additional study. In their third study, Rosenblatt et al. (1989) asked
participants to recommend a reward for a person who went out of their way to assist
the police in catching a mugger and also asked them to rate the prostitution scenario
again. The results for the prostitute scenario validated the earlier results. Moreover, the
results from the new scenario revealed that participants recommended a substantially
higher reward for the Bhero^ in mortality salience prime conditions (approximately
$3500) than in the control (approximately $1100).
The results from these three studies laid the groundwork upon which much of the
additional TMT research has been conducted and strengthened. For instance, many
scholars assumed that the results seen in other TMT research (i.e., individuals from
other worldviews judged more harshly and individuals from the same worldview
judged more positively) were a product of thinking about any terrifying event (e.g.,
taking an exam, dental pain, or general anxiety; Greenberg et al., 1995). This hypothesis was tested, and subsequently dispelled, as these events failed to produce the same
results (for a more thorough discussion see, Greenberg et al., 1997). Other studies have
examined the mortality salience hypothesis on more of a macro scale by having
American college students read and rate essays that either represented pro- or antiAmerican sentiments (Greenberg et al., 1990). As expected, the results indicated that
students in the mortality salience prime condition rated the pro-American essay significantly higher than the anti-American essay and higher than those in the control
condition.
These studies support the fact that mortality salience can be observed under laboratory conditions, but there was no indication whether it is a naturally occurring
phenomenon. In an effort to answer this question, a series of studies were undertaken
in which the researchers asked participants to indicate their position on an immigration
reform measure in Germany (Pyszczynski et al., 2003). Participants were interviewed
either in front of a funeral home (mortality salience condition) or more than 100 m
away from a funeral home (control condition). Results indicated that the salienceprimed participants in the minority position of the immigration reform debate
Am J Crim Just (2015) 40:205–224
215
substantially over-estimated the amount of support they would have in the reform;,
however, this effect was not observed in the participants away from the funeral home or
with the majority group in either location.
Although this body of research generally supports the mortality salience prime, there
have been a few problems associated with it. Specifically, it appears that mortality
salience primes are most effective when a participant is distracted after the prime and
the evaluation of the dependent variable is delayed (Greenberg et al., 1994). This is
thought to occur for two reasons. First, the accessibility of a primed concept deteriorates over time (Fiske & Taylor, 1991). Second, experiencing goal-obstruction produces
increased goal-related thoughts only after a distraction and delay (Martin & Tesser,
1993). This signifies that when a morality salience prime occurs, it is viewed as a goalobstruction because of the presence of an alternative worldview. However, when a
mortality salience prime deteriorates, an individual has increasing goal-related thoughts
(i.e., worldview reaffirming thoughts).
Connecting Policing and TMT
As one can see from the types of experiments reviewed above, TMT has never been
directly applied to law enforcement officers or police use of force directly. However,
TMT has been applied to situations in which a person might invoke force. It is
important to note that some people believe the reactions observed in TMT research
might be a product of the research itself. Specifically, some research indicates participants might be more willing to advocate extreme responses because they are
responding to hypothetical vignettes in which they are not responsible for the consequences of the decisions they are advocating (Cohen & Insko, 2008).
The key area of this integration is the use of violence. Mortality salience primes (and
TMT) significantly affect people’s beliefs in the acceptability of the use of violence in
certain situations. Specifically, research has demonstrated that, after receiving a mortality salience prime, participants indicated increased support for the extreme antiterrorism policies of President George W. Bush (Landau et al., 2004). Additionally,
mortality salience has led to political conservatives expressing higher levels of
Bacceptable^ collateral damage caused by the use of extreme military tactics in the
capture of Osama Bin Laden (Pyszczynski et al., 2006). These types of attitudes are not
only prevalent for Americans in regard to the Middle East, but also in other countries as
well. For example, Israelis who support never returning the Gaza Strip to the
Palestinians were more supportive of violent anti-terrorism policies (Hirschberger &
Ein-Dor, 2006). Based on the results of these studies, it has been well documented that
mortality salience increases prejudice, intergroup hostility, aggression, and support for
war (for review see Pyszczynski et al., 2003).
It is important to note that mortality salience primes do not affect all people in the
same way. Evidence suggests that those most susceptible to respond to mortality
salience primes with hostility and violence are those defined as rigid authoritarians;
these individuals believe in absolute good and evil, and that they know the absolute
Btruth^ in the world (Jost et al., 2003; Jost & Hunyady, 2005). Examples of people who
are likely to fall into this category are religious fundamentalists, those who score high
on measures of authoritarianism (e.g., The Right Wing Authoritarian Scale; Altemeyer,
1996), and those who are politically conservative.
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There are also concerns that mortality salience primes are most effective in certain
situations. Although mortality salience primes are effective at producing results some of
the time, these primes should not be taken as an indicator of an inevitable outcome
(Pyszczynski et al., 2006). Mortality salience primes direct people towards subjective
attitudes, behaviors, and feelings of safety and security. Therefore, if a person’s beliefs,
behaviors, or attitudes associated with violence making them feel more safe and secure,
it is more likely the person will respond with violence.
Integrating SLT and TMT to Explain Police Shootings of Unarmed Suspects
Although there are distinct differences in the SLT and TMT models, there are also many
similarities in how they function. This integration will show how TMT works as an
ancillary process to SLT, potentially explaining why police officers shoot unarmed
suspects. It appears that SLT cannot fully explain the problem of police shootings of
unarmed suspects; otherwise, there would be a systematic pattern to the events.
Specifically, officers would be killing every unarmed person that met a certain criteria;
however, this does not appear to be the case. Additionally, TMT cannot fully explain
police shootings of unarmed suspects either. Again, officers would be shooting more
people that violate their cultural worldview supplied by the police subculture. Although
neither SLT nor TMT can fully explain law enforcement shootings of unarmed
suspects, together, they present a convincing explanation of the phenomenon.
The specific method in which SLT and TMT function together is in an end-to-end
linear fashion. Specifically, SLT and the police subculture work in tandem to teach that
violence, in certain situations, is normative. It appears that SLT and the police subculture work with a feedback effect. The police subculture serves to teach officers via SLT,
and, when officers experience an adverse event, the subculture is reinforced through the
learning process.
Unlike other situations (e.g., drug using or criminal offending) in which one can
passively learn acceptable behavior of a culture, the police subculture actively forces
behavioral conformity. Indoctrination into the police subculture likely begins on the
first day of the police academy. At this time, officers are instilled with definitions of
appropriate conduct. Some of the definitions are positive (e.g., it is acceptable to protect
another officer by any means necessary), some are negative (e.g., you should not use
drugs or steal), and many are neutralizing (e.g., it is acceptable to use deadly force
against a suspect in certain situations).
Once an officer has had ample opportunity to learn the definitional standards taught
at the academy (upon which he will be repeatedly tested to ensure retention), the officer
is transferred to a Field Training Officer (FTO). The officer’s FTO serves many
legitimate purposes (e.g., ensuring the new officer’s safety and ensuring compliance
with legal standards). Additionally, the FTO serves two primary functions for the
learning of the police subculture. First, the FTO confirms that the officer complies
with the definitions that were instilled in the police academy. Second, he models
acceptable behavior for the new officer to emulate. In many departments, the FTO
uses a daily observation report to rate the officer’s success in many different areas.
These areas include: use of force, driving skill, interaction with peers and supervisors,
and general appearance (Chappell et al., 2005). The officer is typically rated on a scale
Am J Crim Just (2015) 40:205–224
217
and must obtain a certain score in each of the areas to maintain employment. Much of
this grading procedure is subjective and based on the experiences and expectations of
the FTO.
The police subculture also teaches officers to work within a system of differential
reinforcements. One could make the case that the FTO grading system serves as a
differential reward for officers when first starting in law enforcement; however, the
differential rewards do not end there. Officers are differentially reinforced by uppermanagement and by their peers within the police subculture. For any particular
incident, officers may observe upper-management reacting in a stereotypically punitive
manner, while the officer is socially rewarded by his peer group. An example of this
might be that of an officer who crashes a patrol car as a result of over-zealously
pursuing a fleeing traffic offender. In this instance, upper-management is likely to
punish the officer for damaging the patrol car, whereas the officer’s peers are likely to
reinforce his behavior. Although impossible to say for certain the method that the peers
might choose to reinforce the behavior, it is likely to be a social reinforcement. The
social reinforcement could come in the form of increased levels of perceived masculinity or toughness. This belief falls in line with previous research which indicates that
the police subculture thrives on the concepts of toughness and masculinity (e.g.,
Herbert, 1998; Waddington, 1999), which would then increase the officer’s social
capital amongst his peers.
The final component of the SLT model is differential association. The differential
association component of law enforcement creates a defined Bus versus them^ mentality, in which all people outside of law enforcement are treated skeptically because
they are thought to be liars (Van Maanen, 1974). In this subculture, officers learn that
people who are not law enforcement officers are potentially dangerous and will try to
hurt them if given the opportunity (e.g., Rubenstein, 1973). This reinforces the belief
that police officers need only associate with other police officers, which also
strengthens the Bus versus them^ mentality. Moreover, by associating with a group of
people that have markedly similar definitions and role models that are reinforced for
similar behaviors, the police subculture itself is further strengthened.
It is clear that police officers develop a subculture that is designed to protect them
from the inherent physical dangers associated with the job (e.g., being killed or injured)
as well as the political dangers (e.g., a punishment-centered upper management). The
subculture also reinforces officers’ behavior through peer validation and other forms of
social reinforcement. However, what is not clear is why police officers shoot unarmed
suspects. 7 A likely answer is seen in the police subculture itself; specifically, in the
striking resemblance to the concept of worldviews as described by Greenberg et al.
(1986) in the original presentation of TMT. The police subculture is designed to serve a
similar function for police officers as the worldviews concept does for entire societies.
In addition to the police subculture acting as a worldview, the subculture also serves to
act as a mortality salience prime by consistently reminding officers of their own death
that could likely be associated with the job. The effects of each of these are explored
below.
7
The effects of shooting an armed suspect likely could not be determined because the officer is shooting the
suspect in defense of themselves or others in the immediate area; ergo only unarmed suspects are considered
because the officer’s legal justification for the use of deadly force is substantially diminished.
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The effects of a mortality salience prime typically force a person to more
fiercely defend his worldview (Greenberg et al., 1990). Recall that the effects
of a mortality salience prime are most effective after a delay and a distraction
(Greenberg et al., 1994). This makes the frequently presented mortality salience
prime that police officers are exposed to through their subculture an effective
tool for convincing a police officer to defend his worldview (i.e., the police
subculture). It is important to note that there are a wide variety of mortality
salience primes that can be regularly presented in police work. On the most
simplistic level, officers are reminded of their own mortality each day when
they go to work adorning bullet-resistant Kevlar vests and handguns. These
items are worn for protection against death, while performing the duties of the
job. Additional, mortality salience primes come in the form of training, especially in officer safety and street-combat training. This is important because
police officers are mandated by law, in most states, to attend firearms training
at least twice a year. In some states, this consists of traditional firearms training
(e.g., shooting at paper targets), while agencies in other states use innovative
training methods to simulate survival situations (e.g., FATS) . Furthermore, each
officer-involved shooting, murder, or assault on a police officer is highly
publicized and dissected within the law enforcement community under the
pretense of preventability. The mortality salience prime directs the officer to
seek out safety and security when his worldview is confronted. This safe and
secure feeling is obtained by annihilating the threat to the officer’s worldview.
The reason that annihilation is chosen over other methods of worldview
defense is, again, a product of the police subculture. Research points to three
distinct explanations that indicate why the police subculture would choose
annihilation over other options. First, police officers mythically believe that
police work revolves around adventure, action, and the use of force (Brown
et al., 1993; Fletcher, 1996; Holdaway & Parker, 1998). Second, the police
subculture idealizes aggressive and authoritative actions (Cochran & Bromley,
2003). Third, the police subculture has a fascination with weapons and conflict,
which is deeply instilled in officers through the learning process (Brown &
Sargent, 1995; Chan, 1996; Herbert, 2001). This body of research seems to
indicate that law enforcement officers are quite comfortable using weapons and
force in a myriad of situations. Therefore, in accordance with the Pyszczynski
et al. (2006) claim, police officers would likely use these tactics to resolve a
threat to their worldview. This would likely be the most frequently-used
solution to threats against the officer’s worldview, especially considering that
weapons often serve as a mortality salience prime, and that police officers are
adept at, and comfortable with, using weapons.
Although this integration has focused primarily on annihilation, it should be noted
that it is not the only solution. Another potential solution that officers might use to
protect their worldview, which has been supported in the literature, is derogation.
Evidence suggests that police officers draw a distinction between themselves and the
members of society (Rubenstein, 1973, Sparrow et. al, 1990, Tauber, 1970). This
division creates an in-group and an out-group, which makes it easier to disparage the
members of the out-group. While derogation is a possible solution to maintain an
officer’s worldview, annihilation is likely more pertinent solution because of the
Am J Crim Just (2015) 40:205–224
219
importance placed upon weapons, use of force, and societal dangerousness within the
police subculture.
The other three worldview defenses as described in Pyszczynski et al. (2003) are not
applicable to law enforcement officers because of the nature of the police subculture.
Law enforcement officers would likely not use the assimilation, accommodation, or
conversion tactics. Specifically, assimilating or accommodating another worldview into
the police subculture is not a likely solution because the police subculture is riddled
with independence and insensitivity (Brown & Sargent, 1995, Chan, 1996, Herbert,
2001). The tactics that are used in these worldview defenses quickly discount police
officers from using them. Furthermore, conversion is also likely to be ruled out as a
solution because it does not logically fit into what is known about the worldview of
police officers and the police subculture. The police subculture creates the divide of Bus
versus them^ (Rubenstein, 1973, Sparrow et. al, 1990, Tauber, 1970), which has the
implicit judgment that Bwe^ (the police) are better than Bthem^ (everyone else). A
conceptual model of the causal process outlined above is depicted in Fig. 1.
Examples of the Process
Evidence suggests that there might be a connection between mortality salience primes
and police shootings of unarmed suspects. For instance, the National Law Enforcement
Memorial indicates prior to several of the well-known shootings of unarmed suspects
discussed above, a law enforcement officer was killed in the line of duty near the
location of the shooting of the unarmed suspect. For instance, on November 16, 2014—
6 days prior to the shooting of Tamir Rice—an officer with the Akron Police
Department was shot and killed in the line of duty. Akron is approximately thirty miles
from the city of Cleveland. This incident was likely in the forefront of the minds of the
officer who shot and killed Tamir Rice. Additionally, 3 days prior to the Amadou Diallo
shooting, a police officer in the New York City Health and Hospital Police Department
Fig. 1 Conceptual model of the causal process
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was killed in the line of duty by an unarmed suspect who kicked the officer in the
chest—stopping his heart. This incident would have likely been reported to the officers
that ultimately shot and killed an unarmed Diallo. The mortality salience prime likely
made the officers hold to their authoritarian and aggressive worldview taught through,
and reinforced by, the police subculture. Simultaneously, it validated the assumption
that the public is dangerous and out to kill or injure law enforcement, and, thus cannot
be trusted. Therefore, when Diallo failed to respond to verbal commands, the officers
saw him as a potential threat to their worldview and reacted in the manner that made
them feel most secure. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. A similar string of
events unfolded prior to the Sean Bell shooting. A few weeks prior to the shooting of
Sean Bell, other New York City Police officers were engaged in an extensive shootout
with a suspect who was assaulting another man. Officers in this case fatally shot and
killed the suspect. Again, it is likely that this information was passed onto the officers
who shot at Sean Bell and his friends. This information could have served as a mortality
salience prime, which increased the officers’ perceptions and general paranoia of armed
suspects. It is important to note that not all cases of police shooting unarmed suspects
are preceded by the type of mortality salience prime described above. There are other
types of mortality salience primes (e.g., violent attacks that do not result in death) that
could have similar effects, although these data are not readily available.
Although the events that potentially led to the Rice, Diallo, and Bell cases were
substantially different, each had a similar effect. The events immediately preceding the
officer-involved shootings all served as mortality salience primes to the involved
officers, telling them that they needed to protect their worldview. The events had
another effect in that they served as reinforcement of the assumptions that the police
subculture makes about members of the out-group. However, it likely does not take
such drastic and tragic incidents to reinforce the subculture or serve as a mortality
salience prime. Specifically, it is possible that police officers go to a training class or a
tactical briefing about another situation, which could serve the same purpose. Specific
types of training could vary from so called Bforce on force training^ in which officers
react to real scenarios with real suspects who are really shooting back at the officers.
Research Implications
Although this theoretical integration is well founded, there are some difficulties
associated with research design. It would be improbable, and most likely unethical,
to convince police departments to allow some officers to be trained utilizing a mortality
salience prime while other officers are not trained with the mortality salience prime.
Some police administrators would be reticent allow this kind of training because it
could potentially put officers in the non-primed category in danger; additionally, the
officers in the prime condition could pose an undue risk to members of the public.
Utilizing scenario-based experimentation (i.e., vignettes) could be a potential solution
to this problem, although there is a loss of verisimilitude between the events of real
shooting situations conveyed in this manner. One possible solution to this problem
would be implement force-on-force training (either FATS® or Simunnitions ®), whereby officers are randomly assigned to each group. This training would present a greater
degree of similarity to events on the street; however, there would still be a loss of some
Am J Crim Just (2015) 40:205–224
221
realism. In order to convince law enforcement administrators to permit this type of
research, it will likely be necessary to empirically substantiate the theoretical model.
There is no information currently available that would allow this model to be quantitatively assessed; however, there are many research designs that could be utilized for
qualitative analysis. Any qualitative analysis that would be conducted must be able to
particularly address the training of the officers, the timeline of events, and any historical
events that may have altered the outcome.
Policy Implications
This theoretical model, in addition to other research, supports modifications to existing
policies within law enforcement agencies. One of the key policy implications is related
to the training of new law enforcement officers. Currently, research estimates that
police officers are trained an inordinate number of hours in the use of firearms
(including practical scenarios) and defensive tactics (including weapons retention).
Kappeler et al. (1994) indicate that fully 15 % of all academy training is devoted
exclusively to the use of firearms. These researchers have figures for defensive
tactics and scenario training as well; however, these figures cannot be disaggregated
to allow for accurate representation of how much time is devoted to officer survival
and fending off attacks from suspects on the street. However, a conservative
estimate of an additional 5 % of academy training being devoted to tasks related
to officer survival means that one-fifth of valuable academy training is devoted to
officer survival.
We must concede that the use of deadly force is an important training topic largely
because of the adverse consequences that are derived from the use of force.
Questionable police uses of force can lead to consequences for the victim, the officer,
the department, and the police/community relationship (White, 2003). Despite the fact
that law enforcement shootings are quite rare—many officers could go an entire career
without using deadly force—these consequences are still ever present. Body cameras
are one of the primary mechanisms thought to control police use of force and to
improve police-community relations. In one of the few peer-reviewed studies that has
examined the issue, Jennings, Fridell, and Lynch (2014) conclude that the police are
generally supportive of body-worn cameras. The authors suggest that officers believe
that body-worn cameras will serve to improve the behavior of citizens and police
officers alike. Further, the use of body cameras will likely increase the transparency of
the events because of the presence of video footage. The video and the improved
behavior of both parties will likely diminish the incidents of police shootings of
unarmed suspects and may ultimately serve to improve police-community relations.
Conclusion
Law enforcement officers create a subculture conducive to certain types of behaviors
via the SLT process defined by Akers (2009). Police officers differentially associate
with other officers, which creates an exclusionary in-group. The officers within the
subculture are instilled with definitions of Bacceptable behaviors^ through academy and
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field training. Furthermore, the police subculture differentially reinforces those behaviors conforming to established definitions and punishing those that do not. This same
process is used to teach law enforcement officers about all facets of their job, including
the use of deadly force. The law enforcement culture, in conjunction with legal
standards and departmental policies, dictate acceptable situations to use deadly force.
Police officers use their subculture to create a worldview; moreover, officers protect
their worldview from opposing worldviews through derogation and annihilation as
described through TMT. Annihilation is the primary mode of protection of the worldview, especially after experiencing a mortality salience prime. Mortality salience primes
are frequently occurring events in law enforcement; they are provided by the death of
another officer, a dangerous shoot-out with suspects, and through training. These
mortality salience primes remind police officers of the perils of the job, which could
quite possibly lead to their inevitable death. Furthermore, the reliance upon annihilation
as a plausible solution feeds back into the police subculture and reinforces the extant
beliefs of the subculture.
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AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR
Volume 40, pages 56–68 (2014)
Moral Disengagement Among Children and Youth:
A Meta‐Analytic Review of Links to Aggressive Behavior
Gianluca Gini1*, Tiziana Pozzoli1, and Shelley Hymel2
1
2
Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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A growing body of research has demonstrated consistent links between Bandura’s theory of moral disengagement and aggressive
behavior in adults. The present meta‐analysis was conducted to summarize the existing literature on the relation between moral
disengagement and different types of aggressive behavior among school‐age children and adolescents. Twenty‐seven independent
samples with a total of 17,776 participants (aged 8–18 years) were included in the meta‐analysis. Results indicated a positive
overall effect (r ¼.28, 95% CI [.23, .32]), supporting the hypothesis that moral disengagement is a significant correlate of
aggressive behavior among children and youth. Analyses of a priori moderators revealed that effect sizes were larger for
adolescents as compared to children, for studies that used a revised version of the original Bandura scale, and for studies with
shared method variance. Effect sizes did not vary as a function of type of aggressive behavior, gender, or publication status. Results
are discussed within the extant literature on moral disengagement and future directions are proposed. Aggr. Behav. 40:56–68,
2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Keywords: aggression; bullying; cyberbullying; moral disengagement; meta‐analysis
INTRODUCTION
Aggressive behavior toward peers during childhood
and adolescence has been studied for decades (Dodge,
Coie, & Lynam, 2006) and has been shown to be a
significant correlate, both concurrently and longitudinally,
of poor health and maladjustment in both perpetrators and
victims (e.g., Card, Stucky, Sawalani, & Little, 2008; Gini
& Pozzoli, 2009, 2013; Ttofi, Farrington, Losel, &
Loeber, 2011). Although the majority of aggressive
children display temporary or desisting aggressive
behavior, about 10% of the general population are
persistently aggressive over the years and can follow a
deviant “career” path (Pepler, Jiang, Craig, & Connolly,
2008). Personal correlates and risk factors for youth
aggressive behavior include positive attitudes toward
(Carney & Merrell, 2001; Rigby & Slee, 1993) and high
self‐efficacy for (Andreou & Metallidou, 2004) the use of
aggression, low empathy (e.g., Gini, Albiero, Benelli, &
Altoè, 2007a; Jolliffe & Farrington, 2011), and high
masculinity (Gini & Pozzoli, 2006). Individual differences in aggression have also been attributed to biases in
morality, with aggressive behavior linked to distorted
moral reasoning that helps to minimize guilt (Arsenio &
Lemerise, 2004; Caravita, Gini, & Pozzoli, 2012;
Hymel, Schonert‐Reichl, Bonanno, Vaillancourt, &
Rocke Henderson, 2010; Malti, Gasser, & Gutzwiller‐
Helfenfinger, 2010; Menesini, Nocentini, & Camodeca,
2013; Tisak, Tisak, & Goldstein, 2006).
The present study focused on one particular type of
moral reasoning, moral disengagement (henceforth MD),
as described in Bandura’s social cognitive theory of
moral agency (1986, 1990). Specifically, this study
reports on the first meta‐analytic synthesis of developmental research on the relation between MD and
aggressive behavior in school‐age children and youth.
We also explored the factors that might moderate the
effect of MD on aggression, including the type of
aggressive behavior, participant characteristics (age,
gender), and methodological features of the studies
conducted to date.
Social Cognitive Theory of Moral Behavior
Bandura (1986, 1990, 1991) focused on moral reasoning and its relation to social behavior in an attempt to
Correspondence to: Gianluca Gini, Department of Developmental and
Social Psychology, University of Padua, via Venezia 8, Padova 35131,
Italy. E‐mail: gianluca.gini@unipd.it
Received 10 November 2012; Accepted 24 July 2013
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21502
Published online 13 September 2013 in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com).
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Moral Disengagement and Aggressive Behavior
explain how “good” people can behave “badly”. With
age, children develop standards of right and wrong that
serve as guides for their conduct. Through this self‐
regulatory process, individuals usually act in ways that
give them satisfaction and a sense of self‐worth, and tend
to avoid behaviors that violate their moral standards
in order to prevent or minimize self‐condemnation.
However, Bandura (2002) argued that the self‐regulation
of behavior involves more than just moral reasoning, and
that moral reasoning is linked to moral behavior through
a series of self‐regulatory mechanisms through which
moral agency is exercised. Moreover, the development of
self‐regulation does not create an invariant control
system within a person, and there are many psychological
and social processes by which self‐sanctions can be
disengaged. Selective activation and disengagement
of internal control permit different types of conduct—
sometimes very negative—with the same moral standards.
Specifically, Bandura described eight mechanisms,
clustered into four broad categories through which moral
control can be disengaged (see Hymel et al., 2010, for a
more detailed discussion). The first, cognitive restructuring, operates by framing the behavior itself in a positive
light, by (i) portraying immoral conduct as warranted
(moral justification); (ii) contrasting a negative act with
worse conduct (advantageous comparison); or (iii) using
language which palliates the condemned act, thus
diminishing its severity (euphemistic labeling). The
second set of disengagement strategies operates by
obscuring or minimizing one’s agentive role in the harm
caused (displacement or diffusion of responsibility). The
third set of strategies operates by minimizing, disregarding or distorting the consequences of one’s action,
allowing individuals to distance themselves from the
harm caused or to emphasize positive rather than
negative outcomes (minimizing or misconstruing consequences). Finally, negative feelings can be avoided by
stripping the recipients of detrimental acts of human
qualities (dehumanization) or considering aggression as
provoked by the victim (attribution of blame). These
mechanisms can lead to aggressive behaviors through a
process of MD, that is a partial gap between the “abstract”
personal idea of moral behavior and the individual’s real
life behavior. In this way, the individual protects him/
herself from negative feelings, such as guilt or shame,
that usually follow immoral conduct (Bandura, 1991).
Measures of Moral Disengagement
Bandura et al. were the first to develop self‐report scales
to measure proneness to MD (Bandura, Barbaranelli,
Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996; Caprara, Pastorelli, &
Bandura, 1995). A short version (14 items) of his moral
disengagement scale has been adapted for use with
elementary school children, a 24‐item version has been
57
developed for adolescents, and a longer scale consisting
of 32 items is used with adults (Caprara et al., 1995). The
scale has also been adapted to specific populations (i.e.,
American minority youth; Pelton, Gound, Forehand, &
Brody, 2004) and it is sometimes used in revised versions
including subsets of the original items (e.g., Ando,
Asakura, & Simons‐Morton, 2005; Barchia & Bussey,
2011). The scale has shown good reliability (a ¼ .81;
Bandura et al., 1996), and is by far the most commonly
used measure of MD across countries.
A few studies have used different scales of MD.
Hymel, Rocke‐Henderson, and Bonanno (2005) also
utilized self‐reports to assess MD in children and youth,
although their survey focused specifically on MD
regarding peer bullying. The original 18 items of the
scale were identified “post hoc” from a larger survey
about bullying as reflecting the four broad categories of
MD outlined by Bandura (2002). However, factor
analytic results failed to distinguish the four different
types of MD and instead yielded a single, 13‐item scale
tapping overall MD with regard to bullying (a ¼ .81).
Nevertheless, this measure has been adopted by other
researchers (Almeida, Correia, Marinho, & Garcia, 2012;
Vaillancourt et al., 2006). Although the Bandura and
Hymel et al. scales show a significant degree of
conceptual overlap, a recent study considering a subset
of items from each scale indicated a moderate association
between the two (r ¼ .51; Ribeaud & Eisner, 2010), with
the Bandura scale tapping a broader range of MD beliefs
and the Hymel et al. scale tapping a more restricted set of
MD beliefs about peer bullying.1
Moral Disengagement and Different Types of
Aggressive Behavior
Starting from early age, individuals who morally
disengage may perceive some types of antisocial
behavior as reasonable or justified, at least under some
circumstances, even if they have internalized moral rules
that prohibit such behavior. Indeed, research has shown
that children and youth who endorse these mechanisms
are more likely to engage in both general aggression (e.g.,
Bandura et al., 1996; Caprara et al., 1995) and peer
bullying (e.g., Gini, 2006; Hymel et al., 2005). Importantly, the link between MD and aggressive behavior
remains significant even after other predictors of such
behavior, such as aggression efficacy, rule perception, or
parenting, are controlled (e.g., Barchia & Bussey, 2011;
Caravita & Gini, 2010; Pelton et al., 2004). Interestingly,
1
Menesini et al. (2003) have investigated MD by assessing children’s
attributions of morally engaged emotions (guilt, shame) versus disengaged
emotions (pride, indifference) in response to hypothetical moral transgressions. In this meta‐analysis we did not include that study because its
methodology differs importantly from those considered here.
Aggr. Behav.
58
Gini et al.
MD has been shown to be a significant correlate of these
behaviors in juvenile delinquents samples (Hodgdon,
2010; Kiriakidis, 2008; Shulman, Cauffmann, Piquero,
& Fagan, 2011), representing extremely violent individuals, as well as community samples, thus confirming that
MD mechanisms operate within the “normal” range of
psychological functioning (Bandura, 1986).
Of recent interest is the degree to which MD is
associated with cyberbullying, defined as aggressive
behavior perpetrated via information and communication
technologies, such as the Internet and mobile phones
(Smith et al., 2008). Several authors have suggested that
MD might be less evident with cyberbullying, albeit for
different reasons. Pornari and Wood (2010), for example,
suggest that online aggression may not demand the same
level of rationalization and justification as traditional
aggression because youngsters might consider cyberbullying as less serious than traditional forms of aggression
and “the anonymity, the distance from the victim, and the
consequences of the harmful act do not cause so many
negative feelings (e.g., guilt, shame, self‐condemnation),
and reduce the chance of empathizing with the victim” (p.
89). Others (e.g., Bauman, 2010; Perren & Sticca, 2011)
argue that the inability to observe the immediate reaction
of the victim may allow the aggressor to minimize the
impact of the negative behavior; this would make MD
less necessary. Indeed, the “online disinhibition effect”
(Suler, 2004), which refers to a loosening of social/moral
restrictions and inhibitions during online interaction that
would otherwise be present in face‐to‐face interaction,
itself can represent a variation of MD, allowing the
individuals to behave in ways that are contrary to their
moral code. Drawing upon this literature, our first aim
was to evaluate the strength of the association between
MD and any form of peer‐directed aggressive behavior
among school‐age children and youth. Of additional
interest was whether the magnitude of this effect varied as
a function of the behavior considered (e.g., aggression vs.
bullying vs. cyberbullying).
Testing Potential Moderators
Three categories of potential moderators were hypothesized to influence the relationship between MD and
various forms of aggressive behavior. First considered
are participant characteristics, specifically age and sex.
Previous longitudinal research by Paciello, Fida, Tramontano, Lupinetti, and Caprara (2008) examined
stability and change in MD and its relation to aggressive
behavior among 366 Italian adolescents, followed at four
time points from 14 to 20 years. Although generally MD
appeared to decline with age, especially between ages 14
and 16, four distinct trajectories were identified: (i) non‐
disengaged adolescents (37.9% of the sample) who
initially showed low levels of MD followed by a
Aggr. Behav.
significant decline, (ii) a normative group (44.5%) with
initially moderate levels that later declined, (iii) a “later
desistent” group (6.9%) that started with initially high‐
medium levels followed by a significant increase from
ages 14 to 16 and an even steeper decline from ages 16 to
20, and (iv) a “chronic” group (10.7%) that maintained
constant medium‐high levels of MD. Importantly, youth
who maintained high levels of MD were more likely to
engage in aggressive acts in later adolescence. At least
one study has reported age differences in mean levels of
MD favoring older students (e.g., Barchia & Bussey,
2011), whereas others reported no significant age differences (e.g., Bandura et al., 1996; Pornari & Wood, 2010).
However, these studies did not assess directly whether
age‐groups differed in the link between MD and
aggressive behavior. This meta‐analysis tested whether
the relation between MD and aggression varied as a
function of age, comparing studies of children versus
adolescents. Consistent with Bandura’s idea that moral
disengagement develops over time as a result from
behaving in contrast to internal moral values, it was
expected that the relation between MD and aggression
would be stronger in adolescence as compared to
childhood.
Regarding sex differences, higher levels of self‐
exonerating mechanisms have consistently been found
in male as compared to female samples from different
cultural contexts, even after controlling for other
demographic variables, such as ethnicity or socio‐
economic status (Bandura et al., 1996; Obermann,
2011; Yadava, Sharma, & Gandhi, 2001). Less clear is
whether the magnitude of the relation between MD and
aggression varies across boys and girls. Some authors
have suggested stronger links for boys (Bussman, 2007;
Paciello et al., 2008), others report the reverse (Yadava
et al., 2001), and still others find no moderating effect of
gender (Gini, 2006; Obermann, 2011). Accordingly, the
present meta‐analysis tested directly whether sex
moderated the link between MD and aggressive behavior.
Discrepancies in findings across studies as a function
of methodological differences were also considered.
First, because different scales to measure MD exist, we
tested whether effect sizes varied as a function of the type
of instrument, by comparing studies that used the original
scale devised by Bandura, studies that used a revised
shortened version of that scale, and studies that employed
other scales. Second, although MD is always assessed
through self‐reports, studies differ in their assessments of
children’s aggressive behavior, with self, peers, and
adults (teachers, parents) used as sources of information.
As demonstrated in a previous meta‐analysis by Hawker
and Boulton (2000) on the relations between peer
victimization and psychosocial adjustment, use of the
same informant for both constructs can inflate the
Moral Disengagement and Aggressive Behavior
magnitude of the measured effects due to shared method
variance. Accordingly, this meta‐analysis tested whether
this feature accounted for differences in effect sizes
across studies.
Finally, publication bias is a threat to any meta‐analytic
review, with concern that unpublished studies are more
likely to have smaller or non‐significant results and less
likely to be included in a meta‐analysis than published
studies, yielding estimated effect sizes larger than those
that actually exist. To reduce publication bias, efforts
were made to include as many unpublished studies as
possible (e.g., dissertations, conference papers). To check
whether a significant difference existed between published and unpublished studies in the reported effect
sizes, we also tested for the moderating effect of
publication status.
METHODS
Literature Search
Multiple methods were used to identify potentially
eligible studies. First, computer literature searches from
the year each database started until March 2012 were
conducted using PsychInfo, Educational Research
Information Center, Scopus and Google Scholar with
“moral disengagement,” “aggressive behavior,” “aggression,” “bullying,” “school violence,” “antisocial behavior” used as keywords. Second, recent review articles and
book chapters on aggressive behavior, bullying, or
morality in children were reviewed for relevant citations.
Third, reference sections of the collected articles were
searched for relevant earlier references (i.e., “backward
search” procedure). Finally, authors were contacted
directly to obtain other relevant studies. With unpublished studies (conference papers, dissertations), principal investigators were contacted to ask for ad hoc analysis
(if no response was received, a second e‐mail was sent
2–3 months after the first). A total of 70 potentially
relevant journal articles, chapters, conference and
dissertation abstracts were reviewed.
Inclusion Criteria
The most basic requirement for inclusion in the
present meta‐analysis was consideration of measures of
Bandura’s MD mechanisms and any form of aggressive
behavior, or bullying, or cyberaggression/cyberbullying,
including self‐report questionnaires, as well as peer‐,
parent‐, or teacher‐reports. Studies were excluded if the
aggression items were part of a wider measure (e.g., a
scale measuring externalizing problems) and a separate
effect size was not available. In one case (Hyde, Shaw, &
Moilanen, 2010), the original author was able to
calculate, upon request, the effect size for aggressive
59
behavior from a broader measure of externalizing
problems at the age of 15 and this study was then
included in the present meta‐analysis. Second, eligible
studies were required to have enough quantitative
information to calculate effect sizes. Therefore, studies
based on interviews or open‐ended questions were
excluded. Third, study participants were school‐age
children or adolescents from the community, with studies
involving clinical samples or incarcerated offenders, and
studies of adults excluded. Finally, both published reports
(i.e., journal articles) and unpublished studies (e.g.,
conference papers, doctoral theses) were considered. In
the latter case, data were obtained from the principal
investigator or his/her supervisor. When multiple reports
(e.g., a conference paper or dissertation and a published
article) presented results from the same sample, only one
effect size was used in the meta‐analysis. Using these
inclusion criteria, the final sample of the current meta‐
analysis included 27 studies; 12 examined the relation
between MD and general aggression, 11 considered MD
and bullying and four considered MD and cyberbullying
(see Table I).
All studies were coded independently by the first and
the second author, using an a priori coding scheme,
recording authors and year of publication, the type and
form of MD and aggression measures used (self‐report
vs. peer/adult reports), sample size, national setting, and
demographic characteristics of participants (age, gender).
Inter‐rater agreement was found to be very good; all
Cohen’s kappas exceeded .92. Discrepancies were
resolved by discussion.
Data Analysis
Pearson’s r was used as the effect size metric, because
almost all studies provided zero‐order correlation
coefficients between the constructs of interest. In three
cases (Bacchini, Amodeo, Ciardi, Valerio, & Vitelli,
1998; Del Bove, Caprara, Pastorelli, & Paciello, 2008;
Hymel et al., 2005), the effect size was calculated from
the comparison between a group of aggressive children
and a control (non‐aggressive) group, by first calculating
the standardized mean difference and then converting it
into r (for details see Borenstein, Hedges, Higgins, &
Rothstein, 2009, p. 48; Card, 2011, p. 100–101). Most
studies did not report data separately for boys and girls.
Given that one aim of the study was to test the possible
moderating role of gender, authors were contacted and
asked for ad‐hoc analyses. This resulted in 45 correlation
coefficients disaggregated by gender (Hyde et al.’s study
only provided boys’ effect size). In four cases for a given
study we had two independent effect sizes for each
gender (e.g., for primary school boys/girls and for middle
school boys/girls). However, the very small numbers of
these subgroups did not allow for a more detailed
Aggr. Behav.
60
Gini et al.
TABLE I. Summary of Studies Included in the Meta‐Analysis
Authors (Year)
Almeida, Correia, Marinho,
and Garcia (in press)
Ando et al., (2005)
Bacchini et al. (1998)
Bandura et al. (1996)
Barchia and Bussey (2011)
Bauman (2010)
Bussey and Quinn (2012)
Bussman (2008, study 2)
Caprara et al. (1995)
Caravita and Gini (2010)
Caravita, Gini, and Pozzoli, (2011)
Del Bove et al. (2008)
Fitzpatrick and Bussey (2012)
Gini (2006)
Gini et al. (2007b)
Gini, Pozzoli, and Hauser (2011)
Hyde et al. (2010)
Hymel et al. (2005)
Menesini, Fonzi, and Vannucci (1999)
Obermann (2011)
Paciello et al. (2008)
Pelton et al. (2004)
Perren and Sticca (2011)
Pornari and Wood (2010)
Qingquan, Zongkui, Fan, and Lei (2009)
Stevens and Hardy (in press)
Yadava et al. (2001)
Sample Size
(% of Girls)
499 (47.1%)
2,301
169
799
1,285
190
1,152
136
706
538
879
475
708
581
1,084
719
257
468
652
677
349
245
480
359
1,578
290
200
(49.8%)
(46.9%)
(45.2%)
(53.8%)
(54.2%)
(37.2%)
(52.9%)
(43.6%)
(46.6%)
(47.4%)
(45.1%)
(57.1%)
(49.2%)
(50.9%)
(48.5%)
(0%)
(43%)
(48.2%)
(47.6%)
(53.3%)
(49.4%)
(48.9%)
(53%)
(48%)
(60.3%)
(50%)
Behavior Measure
Shared
Method
Variance
Effect
Size: r
Spain
Cyberbullying, SR
Yes
.28
Japan
Italy
Italy
Australia
United States
Australia
United States
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Australia
Italy
Italy
Italy
United States
Canada
Italy
Denmark
Italy
United States
Switzerland
UK
China
Samoa
India
Bullying, SR
Bullying, SR
Aggression, SR, PN, TR, PR
Aggression, SR
Cyberbullying, SR
Aggression
Aggression, PN
Aggression, SR, PN, TR
Bullying, PN
Bullying, PN
Aggression, SR
Bullying, SR
Bullying, PN
Bullying, PN
Bullying, PN
Aggression, PR
Bullying, SR
Bullying, PN
Bullying, SR, PN
Aggression, PN
Aggression, SR, TR, PR
Cyber/Bullying, SR
Cyber/Aggression, SR
Aggression
Aggression
Aggression
Yes
Yes
Mixed
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Mixed
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Mixed
No
Mixed
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
.25
.16
.27
.27
.32
.47
.16
.20
.18
.20
.22
.31
.22
.27
.13
.20
.59
.14
.22
.17
.13
.42
.40
.23
.54
.30
Age
Range
National
Setting
11–18
12–15
9–14
10–15
12–15
10–14
12–17
9–12
8–14
9–15
8–15
11–18
12–16
8–11
15–17
9–13
15
13–16
8–14
11–14
12–14
9–14
12–18
12–14
9–11
13–18
15–17
Note. Measures of moral disengagement were all self‐reports. SR, self‐report; PN, peer nominations, TR, teacher‐report; PR, parent‐report.
analyses and effect sizes were thus pooled by gender
group. In order to avoid violation of the assumption of
independence, mean effect sizes for the total sample were
calculated for those studies reporting multiple effect sizes
(e.g., two or more informants for the same behavior)
(Becker, 2000; Borenstein et al., 2009).
Outlying effect sizes and sample sizes were identified
on the basis of standardized z values larger than 3.29 or
smaller than 3.29 (e.g., Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). No
outliers were detected for effect size, but there was one
study with an outlying sample size (Ando et al., 2005).
We winsorized this number of participants (i.e., reduced
to the next largest sample size, following Barnett &
Lewis, 1994; Lipsey & Wilson, 2000), resulting in an
N of 1,578.
Data from individual studies were pooled (with
comprehensive meta‐analysis program—v.2.2) using a
random effects model. To account for variations in
sample size, which influences precision with larger
samples yielding more precise estimates than smaller
samples, each study was weighted by the inverse of its
variance (Hedges & Olkin, 1985). Moreover, because the
Aggr. Behav.
use of correlation coefficients can result in problematic
error formulation, the correlation coefficient for each
study was converted to the Fisher’s z scale, and all
analyses were performed using the transformed values
(Lipsey & Wilson, 2000; Rosenthal, 1991). Then, the
resulting summary effect and its confidence interval were
converted back to correlations for ease of interpretation.
A 95% confidence interval (CI) was computed around
each mean effect size. Confidence intervals not including
zero were interpreted as indicating a statistically
detectable result favoring the association between MD
and aggressive behavior.
Heterogeneity was assessed using the Q statistic
(which is distributed as x2 with df ¼ k 1, where k
represents the number of effect sizes; Lipsey &
Wilson, 2000), evaluating whether the pooled studies
represented a homogeneous distribution of effect sizes.
Significant heterogeneity indicates that variations in
effect sizes are likely due to sources other than sampling
error (e.g., study characteristics). Also reported is the I2
statistic, indicating the proportion of observed variance
that reflects real differences in effect size (Higgins,
Moral Disengagement and Aggressive Behavior
Thompson, Deeks, & Altman, 2003). Moderator analyses were conducted to examine this variability.
Even though we were able to include several
unpublished studies, we evaluated the potential “publication bias” in different ways. We computed the “fail‐safe
N” (Nfs) according to the method proposed by Orwin
(1983), which is more conservative than the traditional
Rosenthal’s Nfs (Rosenthal, 1978, 1979). Orwin’s Nfs
determines the number of additional studies yielding null
results that would be needed to reduce meta‐analytic
results to a negligible result of .05 (Durlak &
Lipsey, 1991). We also inspected the funnel plot, which
displays effect sizes plotted against the sample size,
standard error, or some other measure of the precision of
the estimate. An unbiased sample of studies would
ideally show a cloud of data points that is symmetric
around the population effect size (Field & Gillett, 2010).
Moreover, the association between the effect sizes and
the variances of these effects was analyzed by rank
correlation with use of the Kendall’s t method. If small
studies with negative results were less likely to be
published, the correlation between variance and effect
size would be high. Conversely, lack of significant
Study
correlation can be interpreted as absence of publication
bias (Begg & Mazumdar, 1994).
RESULTS
Association Between MD and Aggressive
Behavior
The 27 studies examining the association between
MD and aggressive behavior reported data on 17,776
participants aged 8–18. The distribution of effect sizes is
presented in Figure 1. Under the random effects model,
the mean effect size for the association between MD and
aggressive behavior was r ¼ .28, which was significantly
different from zero (Z ¼ 11.06, P
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