A grotesque and dark beauty: How moral identity and mechanisms of moral disengagement influence cognitive and emotional reactions to war ¬リニ

Two studies examine the extent to which moral identity and moral disengagement jointly drive reactions to war. Study 1 Wnds support for a hypothesized positive relationship between moral disengagement and the perceived morality of a highly punitive response to the perpetuators of the September 11th attacks. It also Wnds that this eVect was eliminated for participants who place high self-importance on their moral identities. Study 2 Wnds that moral disengagement eVectively reduced the extent to which participants experienced negative emotions in reaction to abuses of Iraqi detainees by American soldiers; however, the eVectiveness of moral disengagement was negated when participants’ moral identities were primed. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.