Moral Justification:

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Moral justification, one of eight cognitive mechanisms of moral disengagement, helps people rationalize unethical behavior by portraying it as serving a greater good or moral purpose. They can convince themselves harmful or unethical actions are acceptable by reinterpreting their actions to align with their moral standards. This gives them a pass to engage in unethical behavior without experiencing cognitive dissonance or remorse. “This is for the greater good,” or “It’s necessary to achieve a positive outcome,” or a student justifies selling term papers as helping fellow students get better grades.