Linking longitudinal dynamics of justice sensitivity and moral disengagement

Despite conceptual overlap between justice and morality, dispositional justice sensitivity (JS) has not been linked to processes of moral self-regulation. In a 1-year longitudinal study with four timepoints (N = 515) we tested how intra-individual changes in JS (from the perpetrator and beneficiary perspectives) and dispositional moral disengagement (MD) were associated. Both JS perspectives were negatively correlated with the inclination to use MD strategies at each timepoint. There was also correlated change. Intraindividual changes in perpetrator and beneficiary JS between T1 and T2 were negatively correlated to intraindividual change in dispositional MD between T1 and T2. Moreover, intraindividual changes in beneficiary JS between T2 and T3 predicted intraindividual changes in MD between T3 and T4. Results are consistent with the proposition that these JS perspectives reflect the strength of internalized justice standards that render MD strategies ineffective for avoiding negative self-reactions.