A scholar seeks to understand "How good people turn evil"

books:


	• The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil Philip Zimbardo Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008 - 576 pages average customer review:based on 60 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Important Concept- Wished for a Better Presentation

I could hardly wait to get my copy home and begin reading. I think this is one of the most important newer ideas in psychology. It is almost a knee jerk reflex to blame the individual and seldom does anyone examine the context within which the action took place to find how and why it took place. I think this probably is a brilliant step forward in accepting responsibility as a community, a nation, a group for the ill effects that it produces. However, as some of the other reviewers mentioned, this book loses it's focus time and again. It is bogged down in the details of the SPE and is clearly biased and ill informed when it discusses political events. I would like to point out that in the SPE Zimbardo fails to take into account his own unconscious assumptions and bias in influencing the outcome. Many times in his comments about particular participants he made judgments on their behavior which were more than a little biased. Nor does he accept that his own concepts about prison abuse went a long way towards producing the outcome. How different the study no doubt would have been had his girlfriend Christine been the author or even co-author.
I look forward to watching the development of the concept of the 'bad barrel' as opposed to the 'bad apple' and expect the best work to come from someone with less bias.

for more information click here

Books make us better persons

And this one surely does.
It is not a light reading, for sure: on the contrary it demands to be read carefully.
But there's a huge quantity of data on fundamental behavioral studies (Milgram, Asch), no-nonsense sound scientific research that will help us understand all the factors that come into play when "evil" is done.
I think it is former President of Czech Republic Václav Havel who wrote 'thank you for illuminating the dark conrner of our souls' to Professor Zimbardo and that's says it all.

for more information click here

A scholar seeks to understand "How good people turn evil"

In 1971, social psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, a two-week, grant-funded mock prison experiment at Stanford University. His work became the stuff of legend when it was called off after six short days due to the brutality of the student "guards" and the emotional trauma suffered by the student "inmates." Zimbardo concluded that "most of us can undergo significant character transformations when we are caught up in the crucible of social forces." Thirty years later, Zimbardo again rose to national attention when he testified for the defense in the court martial of Sgt. Ivan Frederick, a guard at Abu Ghraib prison, arguing for a reduced sentence due to the influence of poor prison and military management on the situation. (For the record, at that trial, Sgt. Frederick received the maximum 8-year sentence permitted under law).

Zimbardo's new book, The Lucifer Effect, capstones his four-decade career studying what makes good people do bad things, from the Stanford Prison Experiment to the Abu Ghraib atrocities to lessons from history. Zimbardo wants to know how moral people can be seduced to act immorally; what the incentives for crossing the line between good and evil might be. The first 200 pages are a detailed account of the six days of the experiment, followed by section with reflections and insights on the experiment and its outcome. The book concludes with another 200 page section on modern applications of the Stanford Prison Experiment and lessons from history- namely, Abu Ghraib. The scholar makes a compelling argument for holding the military and government accountable for creating the environment that propelled ordinary soldiers into sadists. In this expose of human nature, the author proves how vulnerable we all are to the powerful effects of our Situation as well as the System.

Zimbardo's 1970's experiment was not without its detractors. The experiment itself is shocking in modern times - no school or researcher would subject themselves to the litigation that could result from such a research setting. Zimbardo himself was a part of the prison setting, instead of a neutral observer, so the conclusions are subjective and unrepeatable. Critics also cited a lack of scientific controls, an environment of "role playing" to the observer's standards, and the small sample size and extremely short duration of the study. Given that it can't be repeated for social and legal reasons, we are left with only this small, imperfect slice of data about his study. In many ways, The Lucifer Effect shows exactly how relevant the Stanford Prison Experiment was, because Zimbardo is able to place it in the larger context of both historical examples and of our modern war.

for more information click here

it depends what you expect...

There is no question that Zimbardo is a great scholar and that he had spent years, decades, studying this subject. Yet, good scholarship doesn't always translate to good writing. This is a thick (literary and otherwise) book. The overall argument presented by Zimbardo is clear, but it feels that it is bogged down by so many details. There are pages after pages of transcripts from the original study. And here is the point. It all depends what you expect. If you want very detailed account of the 1971 study, that's what you get. Clear, detailed, well-supported and well-explained. If you look mainly for straightfoward answers to the question how good people turn evil, this book could be a difficult read.

for more information click here

We truly are sheep

On Being in the Role of Prisoner:
"Jerry-5486: The most apparent thing that I noticed was how most of the people in this study derive their sense of identity and well-being from their immediate surroundings rather than from within themselves, and that's why they broke down--just couldn't stand the pressure--they had nothing within them to hold up against all of this" (pg. 186).

On Good and Bad Guards:
"Guard Geoff Landry: When a prisoner gives you a glassy stare, and mumbles inaudibly, you almost have to perceive the worst. It's almost because you fear that the worst will happen. It's almost as if I accepted it would happen, and the slightest indication of anxiety and breakdown is the beginning of the worst possible effects" (pg. 188).

(A Guard on Forcing a Prisoner to Eat):
"I decided to force feed him, but he wouldn't eat. I let the food slide down his face. I didn't believe it was me doing it. I hated myself for making him eat but I hated him more for not eating" (pg 191).

for more information click here

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

search for books
effect, evil, good, lucifer, people, turn, understanding

Impressum / about us