Published

2018-01-01

Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia

Los Mecanismos de Desconexión Moral y la Violencia Armada. Un Estudio Comparativo de Paramilitares y Guerrilleros en Colombia

Mecanismos de Desengajamento Moral e a Violência Armada. Um Estudo Comparativo dos Paramilitares e da Guerrilha na Colômbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191

Keywords:

moral disengagement, dissonance, violence, ideology, guerrillas (en)
desconexión moral, disonancia, violencia, ideología, guerrillas (es)
desengajamento moral, dissonância, guerrilhas, ideologia, violência (pt)

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Authors

  • María Cristina Villegas de Posada Universidad de los Andes
  • Jorge Flórez Universidad de los Andes
  • Nicolás Espinel Universidad de los Andes

Moral disengagement mechanisms are strategies to make immoral actions appear moral. This study explores their us-age by two Colombian illegal armed groups (guerrillas and paramilitaries), as well as differences between the groups. The analysis covered 367 communiqués issued in 55 months. A deductive content analysis revealed that the most used mechanisms were: attribution of blame, euphemistic labeling, moral justification and labeling with undesirable names. Results showed differences between groups only in the number of press releases, but not in frequency or type of the mechanisms used. The findings are analyzed in the discussion section in relation to the theory of dissonance, extreme violence and motives for joining illegal armed groups.

 

How to cite this article:

Villegas de Posada, M., Flórez, J., & Espinel, N. (2018). Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 27(1), 55-69. doi:https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191

 

Los mecanismos de desconexión moral son estrategias mediante las cuales las acciones inmorales parecen morales. El estudio examina la utilización de dichas estrategias por parte de dos grupos armados ilegales en Colombia (guerrillas y paramilitares), así como las diferencias entre los dos grupos, para lo cual se analizaron 367 comunicados emitidos a lo largo de 55 meses. El análisis deductivo del contenido reveló que los mecanismos más utilizados eran la atribución de culpabilidad, los eufemismos, la justificación moral y la calificación con nombres indeseables. Según los resultados, solo hubo diferencias entre los grupos en cuanto al número de comunicados de prensa, mas no en cuanto a la frecuencia o al tipo de mecanismos utilizados. Los hallazgos del estudio se analizan en la sección de discusión según la teoría de la disonancia, la violencia extrema y las razones para enrolarse en grupos armados ilegales.

 

Cómo citar este artículo:

Villegas de Posada, M., Flórez, J., & Espinel, N. (2018). Los Mecanismos de Desconexión Moral y la Violencia Armada. Un Estudio Comparativo de Paramilitares y Guerrilleros en Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 27(1), 55-69. doi:https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191

 

Os mecanismos de desengajamento moral são estratégias para fazer ações imorais aparentarem ser morais. Este estudo explora seu uso por dois grupos armados ilegais da Colômbia (guerrilhas e paramilitares), assim como as diferenças entre eles. Analisaram-se 367 comunicados emitidos em 55 meses. Uma análise dedutiva do conteúdo revelou que os mecanismos mais usados eram:atribuição de culpa, linguagem eufemística, justificativa moral e rotulação com nomes indesejáveis. Os resultados mostraram diferenças entre os grupos só no número de comunicados à imprensa, mas não na frequência ou tipo de mecanismos usados. Os resultados são analisados na seção de discussão no que se refere à teoria da dissonância, à violência extrema e aos motivos para se unir a grupos armados ilegais.

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How to Cite

APA

Villegas de Posada, M. C., Flórez, J. and Espinel, N. (2018). Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 27(1), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191

ACM

[1]
Villegas de Posada, M.C., Flórez, J. and Espinel, N. 2018. Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Psicología. 27, 1 (Jan. 2018), 55–69. DOI:https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191.

ACS

(1)
Villegas de Posada, M. C.; Flórez, J.; Espinel, N. Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia. Rev. colomb. psicol. 2018, 27, 55-69.

ABNT

VILLEGAS DE POSADA, M. C.; FLÓREZ, J.; ESPINEL, N. Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, [S. l.], v. 27, n. 1, p. 55–69, 2018. DOI: 10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191. Disponível em: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/psicologia/article/view/62191. Acesso em: 22 jan. 2025.

Chicago

Villegas de Posada, María Cristina, Jorge Flórez, and Nicolás Espinel. 2018. “Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia”. Revista Colombiana De Psicología 27 (1):55-69. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191.

Harvard

Villegas de Posada, M. C., Flórez, J. and Espinel, N. (2018) “Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia”, Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 27(1), pp. 55–69. doi: 10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191.

IEEE

[1]
M. C. Villegas de Posada, J. Flórez, and N. Espinel, “Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia”, Rev. colomb. psicol., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 55–69, Jan. 2018.

MLA

Villegas de Posada, M. C., J. Flórez, and N. Espinel. “Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia”. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, vol. 27, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 55-69, doi:10.15446/rcp.v27n1.62191.

Turabian

Villegas de Posada, María Cristina, Jorge Flórez, and Nicolás Espinel. “Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia”. Revista Colombiana de Psicología 27, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 55–69. Accessed January 22, 2025. https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/psicologia/article/view/62191.

Vancouver

1.
Villegas de Posada MC, Flórez J, Espinel N. Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia. Rev. colomb. psicol. [Internet]. 2018 Jan. 1 [cited 2025 Jan. 22];27(1):55-69. Available from: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/psicologia/article/view/62191

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