Moral Disengagement Scale (MD-24) Test

Understand how people mentally disconnect from their moral standards in just 5 minutes. Get clear results across 24 items to pinpoint key disengagement patterns and support coaching, clinical, or selection decisions.
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Questions245 minutes
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08:30
October 2, 2025
October 2, 2025
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How the Scales are Structured
example score
5/7
Moral Responsibility Disengagement (MRD)
Measures the tendency to distance oneself from personal moral responsibility by using cognitive justifications that reduce guilt for unethical actions.
Low disengagement
Moderate disengagement
High disengagement
12.2Low disengagement2.34Moderate disengagement4.17High disengagement
A score of 5 falls in the High disengagement range, suggesting a relatively strong use of moral-disengagement mechanisms to rationalize harmful behavior and reduce internal conflict.
example score
4/7
Dehumanization (D)
Measures the tendency to view victims as less human, which can reduce moral restraint toward harming them.
Low
Moderate
High
12Low35Moderate67High
A score of 4 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a situational or occasional tendency to distance from others’ humanity when evaluating harmful actions.
example score
3/7
Blame Attribution (BA)
Measures the tendency to shift responsibility for harm or negative outcomes onto the victim as a way to justify one’s own actions.
Low
Moderate
High
12.9Low35Moderate5.17High
A score of 3 indicates a moderate tendency to attribute blame to the victim, suggesting this justification strategy may be used at times but is not dominant.
example score
4/7
Distortion of Consequences (DoC)
Measures the tendency to deny, minimize, or reframe the harm caused by one’s actions as insignificant or beneficial.
Low
Moderate
High
12Low35Moderate67High
A score of 4 suggests a moderate tendency to downplay or reframe negative outcomes, indicating this mechanism may sometimes be used to reduce moral discomfort.
example score
3/7
Diffusion of Responsibility (DoR)
Measures the tendency to reduce personal accountability by spreading blame for harmful actions across a group or situation.
Low
Moderate
High
12.9Low35Moderate5.17High
A score of 3 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting an occasional tendency to share responsibility with others rather than taking full personal accountability.
example score
4/7
Displacement of Responsibility (DoR)
Measures the tendency to reduce personal guilt by attributing one’s actions to authority figures, other people, or situational pressures.
Low
Moderate
High
13Low3.15Moderate5.17High
A score of 4 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting you sometimes explain questionable actions as driven by others’ demands or circumstances rather than personal choice.
example score
4/7
Advantageous Comparison (AC)
Measures the tendency to minimize one’s own harmful actions by comparing them to worse behavior by others.
Low use
Moderate use
High use
13Low use45Moderate use67High use
A score of 4 suggests a moderate tendency to view questionable actions as less serious by contrasting them with more extreme wrongdoing.
example score
3/7
Euphemistic Labeling (EL)
Measures the tendency to use softened or neutral language to downplay harmful actions and make them feel more acceptable.
Low
Moderate
High
12Low35Moderate67High
A score of 3 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting occasional use of euphemistic wording to reduce the perceived severity of questionable actions.
example score
5/7
Moral Justification (MJ)
Measures how strongly a person reframes potentially harmful actions as serving a moral, social, or economic purpose to reduce guilt or internal conflict.
Low
Moderate
High
12Low35Moderate67High
A score of 5 suggests a moderate tendency to justify questionable behavior by appealing to broader moral or socially acceptable goals.
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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS
Who Usually Takes This Test?
Therapists and counselors
41%OF USERS
They use it to spot how clients justify harmful choices and to guide treatment around guilt, empathy, and responsibility.
HR and compliance teams
33%OF USERS
They take it for screening or development to understand who may rationalize unethical behavior under pressure.
Students and researchers
26%OF USERS
They use it in coursework or studies to measure moral disengagement mechanisms and relate them to behavior.
BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.
RESULTS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE
What You’ll See After You Finish the Test
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Used in 52+ countries
Benchmarking
See How You Compare
Once you finish the test, your results will be compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of the benchmarks we use to place your score in context.
Scale of Moral Responsibility Alienation (SoMRA)
Average
4.3
Normal range
3.15.4
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Dehumanization (D)
Average
4.3
Normal range
3.55.2
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Attribution of blame (Aob)
Average
4.2
Normal range
3.45
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Distortion of Consequences (DoC)
Average
3.9
Normal range
2.84.9
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Diffusion of Responsibility (DoR)
Average
2.7
Normal range
1.73.7
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Shifting Responsibility (SR)
Average
2.8
Normal range
23.6
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Advantageous Comparison (AC)
Average
4.5
Normal range
3.45.6
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Euphemistic label (El)
Average
3.6
Normal range
2.64.5
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
Moral justification (Mj)
Average
4.9
Normal range
45.8
min.
1
max.
7
majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.
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CLEAR ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions

Any questions left?

What does this questionnaire measure?
It measures common ways people reduce or suspend moral self-regulation when evaluating harmful or unethical actions. It captures eight cognitive mechanisms used to justify behavior and limit feelings of guilt.
How long does it take and how many items are included?
The questionnaire includes 24 statements and typically takes about 5 minutes to complete. A shorter 8-item version may be used for brief screening.
How should the items be answered?
Each statement should be rated based on typical beliefs and reactions, not on an ideal response. Responses should reflect general patterns rather than a single unusual event.
How are results reported?
Results are summarized as an overall score and as scores for each of the eight mechanisms. Higher scores indicate more frequent use of these justification and distancing strategies.
How should the results be used and interpreted?
Results support assessment and research by identifying specific moral disengagement patterns that may relate to risk for unethical behavior. They do not diagnose a disorder and should be interpreted with other clinical or contextual information.
WHAT THE TEST MEASURES
About This Assessment
Moral Responsibility Alienation Scale, MD-24 Test

Moral Disengagement Scale (MD-24) Test

This measure assesses cognitive mechanisms that allow individuals to justify or minimize the personal significance of behavior that conflicts with internal moral standards. The Moral Disengagement Scale (MD-24) is typically used to characterize patterns of moral self-regulation relevant to ethically questionable, aggressive, or harmful conduct.

It consists of 24 items and is usually completed in about 5 minutes. Respondents rate agreement with statements reflecting common disengagement processes (e.g., moral justification, displacement or diffusion of responsibility, minimizing consequences, and devaluing or blaming victims), supporting interpretation of relative tendencies across mechanisms.

In clinical, forensic, organizational, and research settings, the Moral Disengagement Scale (MD-24) may inform case formulation or risk-related hypotheses by identifying how a person may cognitively distance actions from moral principles. Results should be integrated with collateral information and other assessment data rather than used as a standalone indicator of behavior or intent.

Author: albert-bandura
Literature: Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1996.
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