Essay The Lucifer Effect Understanding How Good People...

he Lucifer Effect raises a fundamental question about the nature of human nature: How is it possible for ordinary, average, even good people to become perpetrators of evil? In trying to understand unusual, or aberrant behavior, we often err in focusing exclusively on the inner determinants of genes, personality, and character, as we also tend to ignore what may be the critical catalyst for behavior change in the external Situation or in the System that creates and maintains such situations. I challenge readers to reflect on how well they really know themselves, and how much confidence they have in what they would or would not ever do when put into new behavioral settings. This book is unique in many ways. It provides for the first time†¦show more content†¦Federal Bureau of Prisons. That notoriety of this study is traced to examine extensions and replications of the SPE in research, the media, and recently as an art form, with critical analyses of the good and the bad directions that have been taken. A major contribution of this book resides in its systematic application of the lessons learned from the SPE and social science research to a new understanding of the abuses at Abu Ghraib (chapter 14). I do this by integrating my psychological expertise with the special expertise I gained by being an expert witness for one of the accused Military Policemen involved in the abuses, Sgt Ivan Chip Frederick. I have gotten to know him well and, therefore I switched my role into that of investigative reporter as I tracked down his performance evaluations as prison guard in the States, the basis of his 9 medals and awards, corresponding with his family members and engaging psychologists to provide personality and pathology assessments of him. I have also been able to get special insight into the nature of that horrid prison from several personal contacts with military officers who have worked there. As an expert witness, I also had access to many of the independent investigations into these abuses and all of the digitally documented images of depravity that tookShow MoreRelatedPhilip Zimbardo s The Lucifer Effect On Understanding How Good People Turn Evil1593 Words   |  7 Pagesresearching how and why people’s behavior change in situations, unexpectedly. For example, a good person committing a bad crime. Zimbardo’s research has brought a lot of knowledge to the study of psychology. His work has helped me to better understand the reasoning behind people’s behaviors and actions. One of his best accomplishments and famously known for is the Stanford Prison Experiment. Philip Zimbardo is also an amazing author of many books, including the book, The Lucifer Effect: UnderstandingRead MoreTo See, or Not to See. Evil Exists and Grows.973 Words   |  4 PagesWhen a small amount of evil is seen yet disregarded, the ignorance breathes life. The evil grows and strengthens, gradually taking over any good that may be left. But when evil is all around and good is hard to come by, does that same evil now become normal? During a time of war, good people become killers and bad people become customary. The fine line between good and evil becomes blurred into a senseless smudge in the eye of reality. The good people now, whilst protecting their freedom and familyRead MoreThe Lucifer Effect Is A Theory Of Psychology1568 Words   |  7 Pagesmorally and cognitively. When things don’t turn out the way we expected, it is common that we begin to try and alter the situation to favor our desires. Have you ever considered that the situation might be changing you? This phenomenon is known as â€Å"The Lucifer effect.† The title originates from the biblical name for Satan, and is described as the demoralization of an individual’s personality and behavior due to a horrific event/experience in their life. ‘Lucifer’ was said to be an angel of the Lord inRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of The Lucifer Effect 846 Word s   |  4 PagesRhetorical Analysis: The Lucifer Effect The Lucifer Effect examines how the human mind has the capacity to be infinitely caring or selfish, kind or cruel, creative or destructive. This work analyses the Stanford Prison Experiment, and the author’s personal experiences as an expert witness for one of the Abu Ghraib prison guards, to raise fundamental questions about the nature of good and evil. Mankind wants us to believe that there is a little good in all of us. Zimbardo created a min blowing experimentRead MoreSummary : Leviathan 1156 Words   |  5 Pagesadult-free environment was given to the kids in Lord of the Flies when their plane crashed into an island. The island lacked the presence of adults or authority; and, thus, kids became more accustomed to anarchy. Due to this lawless environment, the evil human nature gradually overtook Jack and his hunting group and eventually led to savagery. Although there is no reason to behave in a polite manner, Ralph suggested that they ought to have rules and let kids vote for a chief to control them (P58)Read MoreDr. Zimbardo s The Lucifer Effect 1491 Words   |  6 Pagespromotes good will and condemns evil. So what makes ‘good people’ turn the corner between good and evil? We often see evil as an outside force interrupting our lives! We consider evil an entity or quality that is inherent in some people, that turn people into monsters! Unimaginable atrocities like the 9/11 incidents are caused by disturbed minds, not by us, normal people! We could never do something like that! Dr. Zimbardo’s book, ‘The Lucifer Effect’ is an effort to understand how good, decentRead MoreIs Abu Ghraib : How Good People Turn Evil?945 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Psychology Week 8 For this week’s discussion I was given, Genocide to Abu Ghraib: How good people turn evil. Abu Ghraib prison was a US Army detention center for captured Iraqis from 2003 to 2006. An investigation into the treatment of detainees at the prison was started by the unearthing of graphic photos showing guards abusing detainees in 2003. According to Fiske et al., (2010), aggression is generally defined as any behavior that is intended to harm another person who does not want toRead MoreMacbeth Good Vs Evil Essay1522 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween good and evil is a conflict full of strife, where consideration of natural law is continually overshadowed by the seductive illusion of power. William Shakespeare’s 17th-century play Macbeth shows the conflict of an honourable man who is provoked by external factors to fall from goodness and execute deplorable crimes. Not only does Macbeth become evil due to his inner nature, but external factors such as pride and greed cause him to su ccumb to an existence of sin. The majority of people areRead MoreSocial Psychology, By Philip Zimbardo1143 Words   |  5 PagesSocial Psychology is a branch of psychology that tries to find out how people behavior is influenced by others and the development of human interactions. According to the psychology professor and author of the book Fourty Studies that Changed Psychology, Roger Hock: â€Å"Social psychology may also be the research domain that contains the greatest number of landmark studies.† By this being said, social psychology contains a great amount of pioneers that have helped the development of psychology as a scienceRead More`` The Lottery `` By Shirley Jackson894 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to Philip Zimbardo the author of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, he says â€Å"Good people can be induced, seduced, and initiated into behaving in evil ways. They can also be led to act in irrational, stupid, self-destructive, antisocial, and mindless ways when they a re immersed in total situations that impact human nature in ways that challenge our sense of the stability and consistency of individual personality, of character, and of morality† (Philip). In the