Moral disengagement, moral identity, and counterproductive work behavior among emergency nurses.

BACKGROUND: Morality is a fundamental component of nurses' daily work. Nurses' cognitive tendencies toward moral disengagement in high-stress work environments can easily lead them to engage in counterproductive work behaviors that are not conducive to the organization. However, there is limited research on how to mitigate the impact of moral disengagement on counterproductive work behavior. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to explore the impact of moral disengagement on counterproductive work behavior, as well as the reverse regulatory mechanism of moral identity on the relationship between moral disengagement and counterproductive work behavior. RESEARCH DESIGN: This was a quantitative, cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: From September to October 2023, nurses from emergency departments of major hospitals in Hunan Province were recruited, and 500 questionnaires were distributed and collected using the WeChat app Credamo Seeing Numbers. ETHICAL CONSIDERATION: All study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Hunan Normal University (No. 2023-388). FINDINGS: Moral disengagement had a positive effect on counterproductive work behavior directed at the organization (CWB-O) as well as counterproductive work behavior directed at individuals (CWB-I). Moral identity was not significant in moderating the relationship between moral disengagement and CWB-O. Moral identity had an inverse moderating effect on the mechanism of action between moral disengagement and CWB-I. CONCLUSION: Counterproductive work behavior guided by moral disengagement is detrimental to organizations, and moral identity can inhibit the effect of moral disengagement on CWB-I. Nursing administrators should focus on improving nurses' moral identity and improving the healthcare workplace environment so that moral identity can better exert its inhibitory effect on counterproductive work behavior among nurses.

I Treated the Way You Treated Me: The Effect of Leader Hypocrisy on Employees' Voice Behavior.

Purpose: In recent years, due to the increasingly prominent role of voice behavior in leader decision-making and organizational performance, such behavior has become a central topic for scholars. A majority of studies explore the "uphold" effects of multiple leader behavior toward the voice behavior; nonetheless, our study revealed the "undo" effect --- leader hypocrisy on voice behavior. Drawing on social cognitive theory, we investigated the relationship between leader hypocrisy and voice behavior, examined the mediating effects of cognition-based trust and affect-based trust, and the moderating effect of moral identity. Patients and Methods: We conducted a three-wave survey in a large Chinese corporation to test the hypothesized model. We collected 562 employees to participate in this survey. Results: The results show that leader hypocrisy negatively impacts employees' cognition-based and affect-based trust, and both types of trust mediate the relationship between leader hypocrisy and voice behavior, respectively. In the meantime, moral identity manifested the negative effect of leader hypocrisy on cognition-based and affect-based trust. Conclusion: Our research not only enriches the related research on leader hypocrisy and voice behavior but also uncovers the underlying mechanism through which leader hypocrisy affects voice behavior and the boundary conditions of this effect. Meanwhile, our research provides a theoretical reference for increasing employees' voice behavior and promoting the healthy development of enterprises.

Why does a leader's other-oriented perfectionism lead employees to do bad things? Examining the role of moral disengagement and moral identity.

Introduction: Moral disengagement is an essential concept in organizational behavioral ethics, as it is strongly related to employee behaviors and attitudes. What is not clear, however, is which leader traits are directly associated with employees' moral disengagement and which are indirectly associated with unethical behavior. This study draws on a social cognitive perspective that links leaders' other-oriented perfectionism (LOOP) with unethical employee behavior. Specifically, we propose that LOOP provides employees with excuses and encouragement to engage in unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). Methods: We analyzed data collected from 266 full-time employees at two-time points, and used mediated and moderated structural equation models to test the hypotheses, and the findings largely support our claims. Results: The results suggest that LOOP effectively promotes employees' involvement in UPB. Moderated mediation tests suggest that the positive indirect impact of LOOP on employees' unethical behavior via moral disengagement was attenuated by higher employees' moral identity. Discussion: In summary, the results indicate that when leaders emphasize only perfection and make unrealistic demands on their employees, the latter perceive that engaging in unethical behavior is demanded by the leader, that the responsibility is not theirs, and thus they are more willing to engage in unethical behavior. This study discusses the implications of these findings from both practical and theoretical perspectives.

Positive impacts of perceived social support on prosocial behavior: the chain mediating role of moral identity and moral sensitivity.

The relationship between mental health and perceived social support has been well-established in previous studies. While previous research indicates that perceived social support is related to prosocial behavior, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. In order to address this gap, a recent study investigated the mediating effects of moral identity and moral sensitivity on the relationship between perceived social support and prosocial behavior. Specifically, the study surveyed 978 college students using a questionnaire to examine the relationship between these variables. The results of the study showed that, after controlling for gender and age, perceived social support, moral identity, and moral sensitivity were significantly and positively correlated, all of which were also significantly and positively related to prosocial behavior. In addition, the study found that perceived social support was able to influence prosocial behavior through both independent mediation by moral identity and moral sensitivity, as well as through chain mediation. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the factors that shape prosocial behavior and offer suggestions for promoting such behavior in individuals.

Beyond the universal perception: Unveiling the paradoxical impact of ethical leadership on employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior.

Ethical leadership, widely recognized as a positive leadership style, has shown inconsistent relationships with employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior in the workplace. This study draws on the social cognitive theory to investigate the paradoxical impact of ethical leadership on employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior. It also examines the mediating role of employees' psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of moral identity. The study collects data from 515 nursing staff working in public and private hospitals in Pakistan at three different time intervals, and analyzed using PLS SEM. Contrary to the previous studies and our initial hypothesis, the findings reveal a positive relationship between ethical leadership and employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior. Additionally, the study demonstrates that employees' psychological empowerment positively mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior. This underscores the significance of employees' psychological processes. Furthermore, the relationship between ethical leadership and employees' psychological empowerment is moderated by employees' moral identity. This highlights the role of the individual differences in shaping employees' behavior within the workplace. Overall, these results challenge the universal perception of ethical leadership as a positive form of leadership, shedding light on the unintended consequences and paradoxical impact it can have in organizations.

Is nurses' clinical competence associated with their moral identity and injury?

BACKGROUND: The enhancement of nursing care quality is closely related to the clinical competence of nurses, making it a crucial component within health systems. OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the relationship between nurses' clinical competence, moral identity, and moral injury during the COVID-19 outbreak. RESEARCH DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was carried out among frontline nurses, using the Moral Identity Questionnaire (MIQ), the Moral Injury Symptom Scale-Healthcare Professionals version (MISS-HP), and the Competency Inventory for Registered Nurse (CIRN) as data collection tools. PARTICIPANTS: and research context: The research population for this study consisted of all frontline nurses (n = 251) employed in a hospital in southern Iran. Sampling was conducted between May 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021, during the COVID-19 outbreak. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The present study received approval from the research ethics committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, with project No. 99267 and code of ethics ID No. IR. RUMS.REC.1399.262, dated 15.02.2021. RESULTS: According to the study findings, 42.2% of the nurses demonstrated high clinical competence, while 51.4% exhibited moderate clinical competence. The results indicated a positive correlation between moral identity and clinical competence but a negative correlation between moral injury and clinical competence. Furthermore, the variables of moral identity and moral injury were found to predict 10% of the variance in clinical competence. CONCLUSION: According to the results, moral identity and moral injury had an impact on the clinical competence of nurses. Therefore, implementing a program aimed at enhancing moral identity and providing training strategies to address moral injury during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to improvements in nurses' clinical competence and the overall quality of care they provide.

Other-Oriented Empathetic Concern as the Underlying Factor of Extrinsic Emotion Regulation Motives and Its Positive Application for Social Well-Being.

Purpose: In recent years, research on interpersonal emotion regulation has garnered increasing attention. Extrinsic emotion regulation (EER) or the regulation of others' emotions is associated with individual personal relationships and mental health outcomes. However, investigations into why people engage in extrinsic emotion regulation are relatively rare. The current study aimed to identify the underlying factor structure of the motives of extrinsic emotion regulation, based on the Extrinsic Emotion Regulation Motives Scale (EERMS), to examine how these factors related to people's moral identity and social relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants and Methods: The participants of this study were 464 adults (73.1% females) from China who completed an online survey based on EERMS and other related measures. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was utilized to examine the underlying structure of EER motives followed by a bifactor EFA (bi-EFA). Results: Analyses revealed that the bi-EFA model, with an overarching factor (other-oriented empathetic concern) and three specific factors (self-orientation, reciprocation, and obligation), was best applied to the data. These factors were differently associated with social well-being indicators (moral self-identity, peer relationship quality, and perceived social support). Conclusion: This preliminary study supports the use of a hierarchical perspective to understand the different dimensions of motives for extrinsic emotion regulation.

Moral beacons: Understanding moral character and moral influence.

OBJECTIVE: We introduce the concept of moral beacons-individuals who are higher in moral character than their peers and prominent within their social environment-and examine the degree to which moral beacons increase the moral awareness of their peers. BACKGROUND: Using data from cohorts of students in graduate business education across two universities, we applied theory and methods from organizational behavior, personality psychology, and social networks analysis to test two research questions about moral beacons. METHOD: We used latent profile analysis of data from personality questionnaires and social network surveys completed by graduate business students at two universities (N = 502) to identify individuals classified as moral beacons. We used peer nominations and an in-class business case discussion exercise to assess moral influence. RESULTS: Latent profile analysis identified a latent class of moral beacons in our sample. These individuals received more nominations from their peers in end-of-class surveys as guides for moral thought and action and positively impacted the moral awareness of their peers in a discussion of a difficult business case about possible lead poisoning of employees, but did not significantly change their counterparts' moral awareness in a different case. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide promising initial evidence that moral beacons can be distinguished from their peers by both moral character and social prominence and can act as guides for others, at times encouraging greater consideration of the moral aspects of situations and decisions. As these results are the first of their kind, we encourage further replication and investigations of moral beacons and moral influence in other settings.

Stability and cross-lagged relations among callous-unemotional traits, moral identity, moral emotion attribution and externalizing behavior problems in adolescents.

This study investigates the associations of adolescents callous-unemotional traits with moral constructs and the interplay of various outcomes. The present study builds on the lack of research and focuses on the longitudinal relationships between CU-traits, moral identity, moral emotion attribution and externalizing behavior problems in adolescence. The included variables were collected at test time points T1 and T2. To determine the predictive, and stability links among the variables, a cross-lagged model in SPSS AMOS 26 was conducted. Time stability path estimates were moderate to highly stable over time for all included variables. Significant cross lagged paths of moral identityT1 on moral emotion attributionT2, CU-traitsT1 on moral identityT2, externalizing behavior problemsT1 on moral emotion attributionsT2 and externalizing behavior problemsT1 on CU-traitsT2, could be found.

When do supervisors punish subordinates' unethical pro-organizational behavior: Roles of moral identity and goal congruence with the group.

Given that unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) violates moral standards but benefits the organization at the same time, supervisors' responses to this behavior could be equivocal although it is supposed to be punished. Previous research, however, has centered on antecedents of UPB, less is known about its consequences, especially how supervisors respond to subordinates' UPB. Integrating social identity theory with social information processing theory, this paper aims to explain when supervisors perceive subordinate UPB in a negative way, and further engage in negative leading behaviors as punishments for UPB. Results of a multi-wave, multiple-source survey suggest that subordinates' UPB is most negatively related to supervisors' trust when supervisors' moral identity is prominent and goal congruence with the group is low. Furthermore, results show that reduced trust ultimately elicits abusive supervisor behavior. These findings extend understanding of when and why supervisors punish rather than indulge subordinates who act in ethically questionable ways and provide important insights into supervisors' leading behavior from a bottom-up perspective.

Empathy for pain in individuals influenced by moral identity: Evidence from an ERP study.

Both morality and empathy are crucial in the construction of human society. The influence of morality on empathy also deserves researchers' attention. This study used event-related potential techniques to control the degree of moral identity of participants through writing tasks and deeply explored the psychological processes and neural mechanisms of moral identity affecting pain empathy. Behavioral results for picture type showed that the response time to the pain pictures was longer than the nonpain pictures, the accuracy of pain pictures was lower than that of nonpain pictures and ratings of pain pictures were rated higher than non-pain picture. Behavioral results for moral identity showed that there were no significant differences in response time, accuracy, and rating. The interaction between picture type and moral identity was not significant. The ERP results showed that people with high moral identity had higher levels of empathy than those with low moral identity, and pain pictures induced smaller N2 amplitudes and larger Late Positive Component (LPC) amplitudes than nonpain pictures. For people with low moral identity, the pain picture amplitudes were not significantly different from the N2 and LPC amplitudes induced by the nonpain pictures. These results suggest that moral identity affects and moderates the early processing of emotional empathy in the N2 representation and the late processing of cognitive empathy in the LPC representation. Individuals with high moral identity are more likely to induce early automated processing of pain to others when stimulated by pain pictures, automatically sharing the negative emotions of others, which is manifested as having more emotional empathy. Individuals with high moral identity exhibit a more refined analytical evaluation of pain pictures and a conscious, top-down control of processing when stimulated by pain pictures, which is manifested as having more cognitive empathy. Whether in the emotional empathy stage or in the cognitive empathy stage, moral identity has an important impact on pain empathy, and higher moral identity is the premise of empathy for the pain of others.

Self-serving leadership and innovative behavior: Roles of psychological entitlement and moral identity.

On the basis of social information processing theory, this study proposes a model of the influence mechanism of self-serving leadership (SL) on employee innovative behavior (IB), with psychological entitlement as the mediating variable and moral identity as the moderating variable. The paired data of 82 leaders and 372 employees collected at three time points are analyzed by the hierarchical linear modeling. Results corroborate that SL impairs employee IB. Moreover, the relationship between SL and employee IB is mediated by psychological entitlement. Finally, moral identity has a negative moderating effect of SL on psychological entitlement and an indirect effect on employee IB through psychological entitlement.

How and When Perpetrators Reflect on and Respond to Their Workplace Ostracism Behavior: A Moral Cleansing Lens.

Purpose: This study investigates the association between the previous workplace ostracism of employees and their subsequent helping behavior by drawing on moral cleansing theory in the Chinese context, exploring the mediating roles of employees' guilt and perceived loss of moral credit and the moderating role of their moral identity symbolization. Sample and Method: The data were collected from a two-stage time-lagged survey of 284 Chinese employees. Regression analysis and the bootstrapping method are used in this article to examine the theoretical hypotheses. Results: The results indicate that employees' previous ostracism behaviors positively affected their guilt experience and perceived loss of moral credit. Subsequently, the relationship between employees' workplace ostracism and their helping behavior is mediated by guilt experience and perceived loss of moral credit. Furthermore, moral identity symbolization positively moderated the indirect "workplace ostracism-helping behavior" linkage via guilt and perceived loss of moral credits; in other words, for employees who have a higher degree of moral identity symbolization, the mediating effect is more significant, and vice versa. Conclusion: This study does not merely clarify the theoretical relationship between perpetrators' workplace ostracism and their helping behavior, which enriches the explanatory logic of related research on workplace ostracism and the cause of helping behavior, but also expand the application scope of moral cleansing theory. Further, we aim practically to bring enlightenment to human resource management reform, corporate culture construction, and positive behavior management.

How transgressor's moral identity leads to high-quality apologies: The positive effects of guilt.

Comprehensive apologies are effective strategies to solve interpersonal conflict and promote reconciliation. However, transgressors tend to avoid providing comprehensive apologies because it is more threatening to do so. As a result, transgressors usually offer perfunctory apologies and hinder their own chances of being forgiven. Given the importance of promoting high-quality apologies, we investigate the role of moral identity in increasing apology comprehensiveness. Across three studies using a combination of experimental and correlational designs with autobiographical recall paradigm, we demonstrate that transgressors high in moral identity feel guiltier after committing a transgression. As a result, they offer more comprehensive apologies. Moreover, the effects of guilt on transgressors' apologizing are conditional on the perceived apology effectiveness. Guilt is particularly important to boost apology quality when perceived apology effectiveness is low. In such cases, guilt leads transgressors to make more reparative efforts towards reconciliation despite the low possibility of apology's acceptance.

Donate for your Secrets: Relationship between Secrecy, Guilt and Donation Behavior.

Previous research has well documented the negative sides of secrecy, ignoring its potential constructive aspects. Based on the concept of compensatory behavior, this study conducted two experiments with 532 adults to explore the mediating role of felt guilt between secrecy and donation, and the moderating role of moral identity. Study 1 (N = 272) showed that felt guilt mediated the relationship between secrecy and donation behaviors. Study 2 (N = 260) validated the mediation effect of Study 1 and further indicated that the mediated path was stronger for participants with higher moral identity. Specifically, participants with higher moral identity felt more guilty and donated more after secrecy than those with lower moral identity. The results of this study not only expand the constructive consequences of secrecy but also add more ways to appeal for donations.

"Ruptured selves: moral injury and wounded identity".

Moral injury is the trauma caused by violations of deeply held values and beliefs. This paper draws on relational philosophical anthropologies to develop the connection between moral injury and moral identity and to offer implications for moral repair, focusing particularly on healthcare professionals. We expound on the notion of moral identity as the relational and narrative constitution of the self. Moral identity is formed and forged in the context of communities and narrative and is necessary for providing a moral horizon against which to act. We then explore the relationship between moral injury and damaged moral identities. We describe how moral injury ruptures one's sense of self leading to moral disorientation. The article concludes with implications for moral repair. Since moral identity is relationally formed, moral repair is not primarily an individual task but requires the involvement of others to heal one's identity. The repair of moral injury requires the transformation of a moral identity in community.

Dual process in parent-adolescent moral socialization: The moderating role of maternal warmth and involvement.

INTRODUCTION: It has been argued that moral identity can be conceptualized as implicit and automatic or explicit and controlled dualities of cognitive information processing. In this study, we examined whether socialization in the moral domain may also exhibit a dual process. We further tested whether parenting that is warm and involved may play a moderating role in moral socialization. We assessed relations between mothers' implicit and explicit moral identity, warmth and involvement, and the prosocial behavior and moral values of their adolescent children. METHODS: Participants were 105 mother-adolescent dyads from Canada, with adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age and 47% girls. Mothers' implicit moral identity was measured using the Implicit Association Test (IAT), adolescents' prosocial behavior was measured using a donation task, and the remaining mother and adolescent measures were self-reported. Data were cross-sectional. RESULTS: We found that mothers' implicit moral identity was associated with adolescents' greater generosity during the prosocial behavior task, but only when mothers were warm and involved. Mothers' explicit moral identity was associated with adolescents' more prosocial values. CONCLUSIONS: Moral socialization may occur through dual processes, and as an automatic process may only take place when mothers are also high in warmth and involvement, setting the conditions for adolescents' understanding and acceptance of the moral values being taught and ultimately their automatic morally relevant behaviors. Adolescents' explicit moral values, on the other hand, may be aligned with more controlled, reflective socialization processes.

How are moral foundations associated with empathic traits and moral identity?

We examined the relationship between moral foundations, empathic traits, and moral identity using an online survey via Mechanical Turk. In order to determine how moral foundations contribute to empathic traits and moral identity, we performed classical correlation analysis as well as Bayesian correlation analysis, Bayesian ANCOVA, and Bayesian regression analysis. Results showed that individualizing foundations (harm/care, fairness/reciprocity) and binding foundations (ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, purity/sanctity) had various different relationships with empathic traits. In addition, the individualizing versus binding foundations showed somewhat reverse relationships with internalization and symbolization of moral identity. This suggests that moral foundations can contribute to further understanding of empathic traits and moral identity and how they relate to moral behavior in reality. We discuss the implications of these results for moral educators when starting to teach students about moral issues. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02372-5.

Internet impropriety: Moral identity, moral disengagement, and antisocial online behavior within an early adolescent to young adult sample.

INTRODUCTION: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are the most popular medium for social communication amongst adolescents and young adults. However, there is growing concern surrounding heightened ICT use and the activation of influential social constructs such as moral identity and moral disengagement. The importance of moral ideals to oneself (i.e., moral identity) and the distancing of oneself from these moral ideals (i.e., moral disengagement) are often contextual and were tested for differences in online domains compared to face-to-face interactions. METHODS: Three hundred and ninety-two early adolescent to young adult participants (Mage = 19.54 years, SD = 4.48) completed self-report questionnaires that assessed online and face-to-face behavior in this cross-sectional study. RESULTS: Moral identity in an online context was significantly lower when compared to family and friend contexts. Further, moral disengagement was significantly higher in an online context when compared to face-to-face contexts and online moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between online moral identity and antisocial online behaviors (i.e., pirating, trolling, and hacking, etc.,). Both of these contextual differences remained stable across early adolescence to young adulthood. CONCLUSION: Moral identity and moral disengagement exhibit sociocognitive effects within online contexts across ages of early developmental importance. These results may account for high prevalence rates of antisocial online behavior such as trolling, pirating, and hacking within this sample. As social interaction for younger demographics continues to gravitate online, these results highlight that online contexts can influence important personality constructs.

Darkness within: The Internal Mechanism between Dark Triad and Malevolent Creativity.

The Dark Triad has been found to be associated with malevolent creativity (MC) in terms of trait level, and its underlying mechanism remains unclear. Based on the cognitive-affective processing system theory and the existing studies, the current study aimed to explore the internal mechanism between the Dark Triad and MC behavioral tendencies/performance. The results revealed that the Dark Triad is positively related to MC behavioral tendencies through trait aggression and general creativity behavioral tendencies. Regarding MC performance, the Dark Triad is positively related to the originality of malevolent ideas through MC behavioral tendencies, but this effect is only significant at low-to-medium levels of moral identity. In line with moral identity theory, a higher moral identity may prevent individuals from acting immorally due to their desire to maintain their moral image, which may further suppress malevolent idea generation. Therefore, cultivating moral identity may be an effective approach to weaken the Dark Triad-MC performance association.