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Misplaced loyalty (or mistaken loyalty, misguided loyalty or misplaced trust) is loyalty placed in other persons or organisations where that loyalty is not acknowledged, is not respected, is betrayed, or is taken advantage of. It can also mean loyalty to a malignant or misguided cause.

Social psychology provides a partial explanation for the phenomenon in the way that the norm of social reciprocity motivates people to honor their agreements, and shows that people usually maintain an agreed deal even when it changes for the worse.^[1] Humanists^[who?] point out that "[M]an inherits the capacity for loyalty, but not the use to which he shall put it [...] may unselfishly devote himself to what is petty or vile, as he may to what is generous and noble".^[2]

In the family

Part of the conventional therapeutic wisdom is 'that those of us who were unlucky enough to be raised by bad parents also get to be burdened as adults by their demands...we maintain a sense of misguided loyalty'.^[3] Under the rubric - 'Misplaced Loyalty: The Codependency Factor'^[4] - the self-help movement would strongly challenge such loyalty: 'in either individual therapy or self-help groups, the goal is to seek out and replace our misguided loyalty and attachment to our failed parents with attachment to healthier peers'.^[5]

Psychoanalysis would highlight the accompanying paradox that 'the child, it should be remembered, always defends the bad parent more ferociously than the good'.^[6] The paradox may help account for what have been called 'trauma bonds...the misplaced loyalties found in exploitive cults, incest families, or hostage and kidnapping situations, or codependents who live with alcoholics, compulsive gamblers or sex addicts'.^[7]

Institutional

'Institutions develop powerful instruments of defence for their protection and perpetuation...develop misguided loyalty to committee and boards. To criticize forcibly rather than to cover up is to rock the boat'.^[8]^[9] Similarly, there are 'examples where misguided loyalty on the part of a business owner or manager has led to a decline in a business's performance'.^[10]

Sometimes, however, institutions are torn by conflicting codes of loyalty. Thus in the police, in-force loyalty, which 'has sometimes caused officers to lie and cheat on behalf of others...is now regarded as misplaced loyalty': in partial palliation, 'it must be understood that this "looking after one's mates" is a critical element of loyalty for those who face combat'.^[11]

In analytic controversy

The charge of misplaced loyalty is often used as a weapon in analytic disputes. Lacan for example criticised Ernest Kris for the way 'he accredits this interpretation to "ego psychology" à la Hartmann, whom he believed he was under some obligation to support'.^[12]

Similarly, Neville Symington's 'criticism of Melanie Klein is that...she maintained the concept of the death instinct in order to remain loyal to Freud's instinct theory, but it only muddles her otherwise clear formulations'.^[13]

Historical

'The Spartans' behaviour at Thermopylae' might be seen as misplaced loyalty, or at least as 'an overriding commitment and loyalty to the good and the absolutely overriding dictates of the state'^[14] — as an instance when 'unreasoning obedience to a noble but narrow ideal received its logical reward'.^[15]
It has been suggested that part of the military problems of the Confederacy came from the way the President, Jefferson Davis, 'had a propensity for meddling with commands and a strong but misplaced confidence in lesser men like...Braxton Bragg and Beauregard'.^[16]

Literary

"When my love swears that she is made of truth I do believe her, though I know she lies" Shakespeare's Sonnet 138.^[17]
C. S. Lewis in his wartime novel That Hideous Strength had the following exchange: '"There's such a thing as loyalty", said Jane. McPhee...suddenly looked up with a hundred covenanters in his eyes. "There is, Ma'am", he said. "As you get older you will learn that it is a virtue too important to be lavished on individual personalities"'.^[18]
On his last day in the C.I.D., John Rebus reflects guiltily that from his first day in the C.I.D. he had learnt that '"there's only two teams - us and them ... You covered for mates who'd had too many whiskies with lunch...or gone a bit too far on an arrest...prisoners falling downstairs or stumbling into walls...you covered for everybody on your team'.^[19]

References

^ E. R. Smith/D. M. Mackie, Social Psychology (2007) p. 390
^ Arthur James Balfour, Theism and Humanism (2000) p. 65
^ Marcia Sirota, "Misguided Loyalty Toward Hurtful Parents"
^ J. Middleton-Moz/L. Dwinnell, After the Tears (2010) p. 169
^ David P Celaric, Leaving Home (2005) p. 137
^ Adam Phillips, On Flirtation (London 1994) p. 111
^ Patrick Carnes, The Betrayal Bond (1997) p. 29
^ Gittins, Diana (1998), "The corridor of power - the 1960s: Russell Barton", in Gittins, Diana (ed.), Madness in its place: narratives of Severalls Hospital, 1913-1997, London New York: Routledge, pp. 83–84, ISBN 9780415183888
^ Wilmshurst, Peter (2007). "Dishonesty in Medical Research" (PDF). The Medico-Legal Journal. 75 (Pt 1): 3–12. doi:10.1258/rsmmlj.75.1.3. PMID 17506338. S2CID 26915448. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-21.
^ Michael H. Shenkman, The Strategic Heart (1996) p. xiii
^ Roger F. Peters, Police under Pressure (2007) p. 17
^ Jacques Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection (London 1997) p. 238
^ Neville Symington, Narcissism: A New Theory (London 2003) p. 102
^ Paul Cartledge, Thermopylae (2007) p. 130
^ E. B. Castle, Ancient Education and Today (1969) p. 29
^ R. B. Nye/J. E. Morpurgo, A History of the United States Vol 2 (Penguin 1955) p. 478
^ W. G. Ingram/T Redpath eds, Shakespeare's Sonnets (London 1978) p. 319
^ C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength (London 2005 [1945]) p. 262
^ Ian Rankin, Exit Music (London 2007) p. 378

External links

'Misplaced' loyalty to banks is bad for economy

[1] E. R. Smith/D. M. Mackie, Social Psychology (2007) p. 390

[2] Arthur James Balfour, Theism and Humanism (2000) p. 65

[3] Marcia Sirota, "Misguided Loyalty Toward Hurtful Parents"

[4] J. Middleton-Moz/L. Dwinnell, After the Tears (2010) p. 169

[5] David P Celaric, Leaving Home (2005) p. 137

[6] Adam Phillips, On Flirtation (London 1994) p. 111

[7] Patrick Carnes, The Betrayal Bond (1997) p. 29

[8] Gittins, Diana (1998), "The corridor of power - the 1960s: Russell Barton", in Gittins, Diana (ed.), Madness in its place: narratives of Severalls Hospital, 1913-1997, London New York: Routledge, pp. 83–84, ISBN 9780415183888

[9] Wilmshurst, Peter (2007). "Dishonesty in Medical Research" (PDF). The Medico-Legal Journal. 75 (Pt 1): 3–12. doi:10.1258/rsmmlj.75.1.3. PMID 17506338. S2CID 26915448. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-21.

[10] Michael H. Shenkman, The Strategic Heart (1996) p. xiii

[11] Roger F. Peters, Police under Pressure (2007) p. 17

[12] Jacques Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection (London 1997) p. 238

[13] Neville Symington, Narcissism: A New Theory (London 2003) p. 102

[14] Paul Cartledge, Thermopylae (2007) p. 130

[15] E. B. Castle, Ancient Education and Today (1969) p. 29

[16] R. B. Nye/J. E. Morpurgo, A History of the United States Vol 2 (Penguin 1955) p. 478

[17] W. G. Ingram/T Redpath eds, Shakespeare's Sonnets (London 1978) p. 319

[18] C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength (London 2005 [1945]) p. 262

[19] Ian Rankin, Exit Music (London 2007) p. 378

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Loyalty placed where it is not respected or to an unworthy cause}}{{Essay-like|date=December 2020}}
-'''Misplaced loyalty''' (or '''mistaken loyalty''', '''misguided loyalty''' or '''misplaced trust''') is [[loyalty]] placed in other persons or [[organisations]] where that loyalty is not acknowledged or [[respect]]ed; is [[Betrayal|betrayed]] or taken advantage of. It can also mean loyalty to a malignant or misguided cause.
+'''Misplaced loyalty''' (or '''mistaken loyalty''', '''misguided loyalty''' or '''misplaced trust''') is [[loyalty]] placed in other persons or [[organisations]] where that loyalty is not acknowledged, is not [[respect]]ed, is [[Betrayal|betrayed]], or is taken advantage of. It can also mean loyalty to a malignant or misguided cause.
-[[Social psychology (sociology)|Social psychology]] provides a partial explanation for the phenomenon in the way "[T]he [[Norm of reciprocity|norm of social commitment]] directs us to [[Pacta sunt servanda|honor our agreements]]. [...] People usually stick to the deal even though it has changed for the worse".<ref>E. R. Smith/D. M. Mackie, ''Social Psychology'' (2007) p. 390</ref> [[Humanism|Humanists]] point out that "[M]an inherits the capacity for loyalty, but not the use to which he shall put it [...] may unselfishly devote himself to what is petty or vile, as he may to what is generous and noble".<ref>Arthur James Balfour, ''Theism and Humanism'' (2000) p. 65</ref>
+[[Social psychology (sociology)|Social psychology]] provides a partial explanation for the phenomenon in the way that the [[norm of reciprocity|norm of social reciprocity]] motivates people to [[Pacta sunt servanda|honor their agreements]], and shows that people usually maintain an agreed deal even when it changes for the worse.<ref>E. R. Smith/D. M. Mackie, ''Social Psychology'' (2007) p. 390</ref> [[Humanism|Humanists]]{{who|date=January 2020}} point out that "[M]an inherits the capacity for loyalty, but not the use to which he shall put it [...] may unselfishly devote himself to what is petty or vile, as he may to what is generous and noble".<ref>Arthur James Balfour, ''Theism and Humanism'' (2000) p. 65</ref>
 ==In the family==
@@ Line 7: / Line 9: @@
 Part of the conventional therapeutic wisdom is 'that those of us who were unlucky enough to be raised by bad parents also get to be burdened as adults by their demands...we maintain a sense of misguided loyalty'.<ref>[http://www.facebook.com/notes/ruthless-compassion-institute/misplaced-loyalty-toward-hurtful-parents/378824067498 Marcia Sirota, "Misguided Loyalty Toward Hurtful Parents"]</ref> Under the rubric - 'Misplaced Loyalty: The [[Codependency]] Factor'<ref>J. Middleton-Moz/L. Dwinnell, ''After the Tears'' (2010) p. 169</ref> - the [[self-help]] movement would strongly challenge such loyalty: 'in either individual therapy or self-help groups, the goal is to seek out and replace our misguided loyalty and attachment to our failed parents with attachment to healthier peers'.<ref>David P Celaric, ''Leaving Home'' (2005) p. 137</ref>
-Psychoanalysis would highlight the accompanying paradox that 'the child, it should be remembered, always defends the bad parent more ferociously than the good'.<ref>Adam Phillips, ''On Flirtation'' (London 1994) p. 111</ref> The paradox may help account for what have been called 'trauma bonds...the misplaced loyalties found in exploitive cults, incest families, or hostage and kidnapping situations, or codependents who live with alcoholics, compulsive gamblers or sex addicts'.<ref>Patrick Carnes, ''The Betrayal Bond'' (1997) p. 29</ref>
+Psychoanalysis would highlight the accompanying paradox that 'the child, it should be remembered, always defends the bad parent more ferociously than the good'.<ref>Adam Phillips, ''On Flirtation'' (London 1994) p. 111</ref> The paradox may help account for what have been called '[[trauma bonds]]...the misplaced loyalties found in exploitive cults, incest families, or hostage and kidnapping situations, or codependents who live with alcoholics, compulsive gamblers or sex addicts'.<ref>Patrick Carnes, ''The Betrayal Bond'' (1997) p. 29</ref>
 ==Institutional==
-'Institutions develop powerful instruments of defence for their protection and perpetuation...develop misguided loyalty to committee and boards. To criticize forcibly rather than to cover up is to rock the boat'.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Gittins | first1 = Diana  | author-link= Diana Gittins | contribution = The corridor of power - the 1960s: Russell Barton | editor-last = Gittins | editor-first = Diana | editor-link = Diana Gittins | title = Madness in its place: narratives of Severalls Hospital, 1913-1997 | pages = 83–84 | publisher = Routledge | location = London New York | year = 1998 | isbn = 9780415183888 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Wilmshurst|first=Peter|title=Dishonesty in Medical Research|url=http://www.medico-legalsociety.org.uk/articles/dishonesty_in_medical_research.pdf}}</ref> Similarly, there are 'examples where misguided loyalty on the part of a business owner or manager has led to a decline in a business's performance'.<ref>Michael H. Shenkman, ''The Strategic Heart'' (1996) p. xiii</ref>
+'Institutions develop powerful instruments of defence for their protection and perpetuation...develop misguided loyalty to committee and boards. To criticize forcibly rather than to cover up is to rock the boat'.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Gittins | first1 = Diana  | author-link= Diana Gittins | contribution = The corridor of power - the 1960s: Russell Barton | editor-last = Gittins | editor-first = Diana | editor-link = Diana Gittins | title = Madness in its place: narratives of Severalls Hospital, 1913-1997 | pages = 83–84 | publisher = Routledge | location = London New York | year = 1998 | isbn = 9780415183888 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Wilmshurst |first=Peter |title=Dishonesty in Medical Research |journal=The Medico-Legal Journal |year=2007 |volume=75 |issue=Pt 1 |pages=3–12 |doi=10.1258/rsmmlj.75.1.3 |pmid=17506338 |s2cid=26915448 |url=http://www.medico-legalsociety.org.uk/articles/dishonesty_in_medical_research.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521050439/http://www.medico-legalsociety.org.uk/articles/dishonesty_in_medical_research.pdf |archivedate=2013-05-21 }}</ref> Similarly, there are 'examples where misguided loyalty on the part of a business owner or manager has led to a decline in a business's performance'.<ref>Michael H. Shenkman, ''The Strategic Heart'' (1996) p. xiii</ref>
-Sometimes however institutions are torn by conflicting codes of loyalty. Thus in the police, in-force loyalty, which 'has sometimes caused officers to lie and cheat on behalf of others...is now regarded as misplaced loyalty': in partial palliation, 'it must be understood that this "looking after one's mates" is a critical element of loyalty for those who face combat'.<ref>Roger F. Peters, ''Police under Pressure'' (2007) p. 17</ref>
+Sometimes, however, institutions are torn by conflicting codes of loyalty. Thus in the police, in-force loyalty, which 'has sometimes caused officers to lie and cheat on behalf of others...is now regarded as misplaced loyalty': in partial palliation, 'it must be understood that this "looking after one's mates" is a critical element of loyalty for those who face combat'.<ref>Roger F. Peters, ''Police under Pressure'' (2007) p. 17</ref>
 ==In analytic controversy==
@@ Line 23: / Line 25: @@
 ==Historical==
-* 'The [[Sparta]]ns' behaviour at [[Battle of Thermopylae|Thermopylae]]' might be seen as misplaced loyalty, or at least as 'an overriding commitment and loyalty to the good and the absolutely overriding dictates of the state'<ref>Paul Cartledge, ''Thermopylae'' (2007) p. 130</ref> - as an instance when 'unreasoning obedience to a noble but narrow ideal received its logical reward'.<ref>E. B. Castle, ''Ancient Education and Today'' (1969) p. 29</ref>
+* 'The [[Sparta]]ns' behaviour at [[Battle of Thermopylae|Thermopylae]]' might be seen as misplaced loyalty, or at least as 'an overriding commitment and loyalty to the good and the absolutely overriding dictates of the state'<ref>Paul Cartledge, ''Thermopylae'' (2007) p. 130</ref> — as an instance when 'unreasoning obedience to a noble but narrow ideal received its logical reward'.<ref>E. B. Castle, ''Ancient Education and Today'' (1969) p. 29</ref>
 * It has been suggested that part of the military problems of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] came from the way the President, [[Jefferson Davis]], 'had a propensity for meddling with commands and a strong but misplaced confidence in lesser men like...[[Braxton Bragg]] and [[P. G. T. Beauregard|Beauregard]]'.<ref>R. B. Nye/J. E. Morpurgo, ''A History of the United States'' Vol 2 (Penguin 1955) p. 478</ref>
 == Literary==
-* "When my love swears that she is made of truth I do believe her, though I know she lies" [[Shakespeare's Sonnets]].<ref>W. G. Ingram/T Redpath eds, ''Shakespeare's Sonnets'' (London 1978) p. 319</ref>
+* "When my love swears that she is made of truth I do believe her, though I know she lies" [[Shakespeare's Sonnets|Shakespeare's ''Sonnet 138'']].<ref>W. G. Ingram/T Redpath eds, ''Shakespeare's Sonnets'' (London 1978) p. 319</ref>
 * [[C. S. Lewis]] in his wartime novel ''[[That Hideous Strength]]'' had the following exchange: '"There's such a thing as loyalty", said Jane. McPhee...suddenly looked up with a hundred [[covenanter]]s in his eyes. "There is, Ma'am", he said. "As you get older you will learn that it is a virtue too important to be lavished on individual personalities"'.<ref>C. S. Lewis, ''That Hideous Strength'' (London 2005 [1945]) p. 262</ref>
 * On his last day in the C.I.D., [[John Rebus]] reflects guiltily that from his ''first'' day in the C.I.D. he had learnt that '"there's only two teams - us and them ... You covered for mates who'd had too many whiskies with lunch...or gone a bit too far on an arrest...prisoners falling downstairs or stumbling into walls...you covered for ''every''body on your team'.<ref>Ian Rankin, ''Exit Music'' (London 2007) p. 378</ref>
 ==See also==
-{{Columns-list|3|
+{{Columns-list|
+* {{annotated link|Authority bias}}
-* [[Code of silence]]
+* {{annotated link|Code of silence}}
-* [[Omertà]]
+* {{annotated link|Omertà}}
-* [[Perceived organizational support]]
+* {{annotated link|Perceived organizational support}}
-* [[Perceived psychological contract violation]]
+* {{annotated link|Perceived psychological contract violation}}
-* [[Trust (social sciences)|Trust]]
+* {{annotated link|Trust (social sciences)|Trust}}
-* [[Whistleblower]]
+* {{annotated link|Whistleblower}}
-* [[Stockholm syndrome]]
+* {{annotated link|Stockholm syndrome}}
 }}
@@ Line 53: / Line 56: @@
 * [http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2003/6/13/164046/861 Hamlet - Misplaced Loyalty] Discussion on the misplaced loyalty of Hamlet regarding Guildenstern/Rosencrantz, the Monarchy and Claudius.
 * Long ML Misplaced Loyalty (2009)
-* Winslow D [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96429995 Misplaced loyalties: The role of military culture in the breakdown of discipline in two peace operations]
+* Winslow D [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96429995 Misplaced loyalties: The role of military culture in the breakdown of discipline in two peace operations]
 ==External links==
-* [http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/misplaced-loyalty-to-banks-is-bad-for-economy-2127258.html 'Misplaced' loyalty to banks is bad for economy]
+* [https://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/misplaced-loyalty-to-banks-is-bad-for-economy-2127258.html 'Misplaced' loyalty to banks is bad for economy]
 [[Category:Ethical principles]]
-[[Category:Social psychology]]
+[[Category:Interpersonal relationships]]