Displacement of responsibility

Displacement of responsibility, one of eight moral disengagement mechanisms, operates by distorting the relationship between actions and the effects they cause, blaming authoritative figures, or claiming their actions are serving a greater good. People behave in ways they would normally oppose, distorting facts and further distancing themselves from personal responsibility for unethical conduct. Displacing responsibility leads to a breakdown of accountability, making it easier for individuals and groups to engage in harmful actions without facing consequences or experiencing moral conflict: 

• Authority figures exonerate the soldier “following orders” in committing wartime atrocities or embezzling funds by blaming leadership for creating a toxic workplace. 
• Beyond their control by blaming external circumstances, like bad weather for a car accident.
• Diffusing responsibility by justifying harmful acts because others in the group are doing the same
• Bystander effect by not helping in an emergency when others are present, leading to inaction.
• Justification for harmful actions as necessary for the “greater good” or to achieve a specific goal.