Abstract
Nowadays, the internet has become an indispensable part of people’s lives. In the internet, college students’ may engage in various kinds of deviant behaviors. Morality is an important aspect to consider when explaining the occurrence of deviant behavior. But how college students’ morality influences their deviant behavior on the internet constitutes a hitherto unstudied issue. In the moral domain, Bandura’s social cognitive theory of human agency offers an inclusive conceptual framework within which the moral dimensions of deviant behavior can also be described. Thereby, individual with high levels of moral disengagement may tend to report more deviant behavior on the internet. Perspective taking is the process of imagining the world from another’s vantage point or imagining oneself in another’s shoes. From cognitive development to moral reasoning, perspective taking is considered the foundation of human social capacity and is recognized as a critical ingredient in proper social functioning. Perspective taking consistently increases liking, interaction satisfaction, and helping behavior. A wealth of research has also shown that perspective-taking affects cyber bullying and aggression. Therefore, the aim of this present study was to examine the relationship between perspective taking and college students’ deviant behavior on the internet, and the mediation of moral disengagement in contemporary China.
The present study tested the hypotheses using the method of questionnaire survey. A total of 424 undergraduates from two universities participated in this survey. The questionnaires used in the study were: interpersonal reactivity index, moral disengagement scale, and scale for adolescent internet deviance. The results were as follows: (1) College students’ deviant behavior on the internet was not serious. However, the frequency of inflammatory, pornographic and deception behaviors in boys online was significantly higher than that in girls. (2) Perspective taking was negatively related to moral disengagement (r=-.34, p<.001), and deviant behavior on the internet (r=-.32, p<.001). But perspective taking was positively related to moral disengagement (r=.56, p<.001). (3) Perspective taking had a negative effect on college students’ deviant behavior on the internet (?=-.23, p<.05). However, moral disengagement mediated the relation between perspective taking and deviant behavior on the internet.
Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of the findings from the study were discussed. It was argued that the findings enriched the theory of moral disengagement by confirming the mediating role of moral disengagement in the relationship between perspective taking and deviant behavior online. It suggests, based on the findings, that we could decrease the college students’ deviant behavior on the internet by improving their perspective taking, and reducing their moral disengagement.
Key words
college student /
perspective taking /
moral disengagement /
deviant behavior online
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Impact of Perspective Taking on Deviant Behavior Online: The Mediating Effect of Moral Disengagement[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2014, 37(3): 633-638
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