The psychology of evil | Philip Zimbardo
What Makes People Go Wrong?
This section explores the question of what causes people to go wrong, drawing from personal experiences and observations.
Childhood Influences
- Growing up in the South Bronx, surrounded by evil in an inner-city ghetto.
- Witnessing friends who were good kids but got involved in drugs, trouble, and crime.
- Realizing that the line between good and evil is movable and permeable.
The Illusion of Good and Evil
- Introducing M.C. Escher's artwork depicting angels and demons.
- Highlighting the coexistence of good and evil in the world.
- Mentioning Lucifer as God's favorite angel who became Satan.
The Transformation into Evil
- Discussing how Lucifer's disobedience led to his descent into hell.
- Noting that God created hell as a place to store evil but failed to contain it.
- Setting the context for understanding how ordinary people can become perpetrators of evil.
The Nature of Evil
This section delves into a psychological definition of evil as the exercise of power, encompassing harm inflicted on others physically, psychologically, or morally.
Understanding Evil as Power
- Defining evil as intentional harm caused by individuals wielding power.
- Emphasizing that evil is not inherent to individuals but rather a manifestation of their actions.
The Scope of Evil
- Highlighting the vast number of search results when Googling "evil."
- Referencing the Abu Ghraib scandal involving American soldiers abusing prisoners.
Exploring Abu Ghraib Scandal
This section focuses on the Abu Ghraib scandal and examines whether it was caused by a few bad apples or systemic issues.
Shock and Parallels
- Expressing shock at the revelations of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib.
- Drawing parallels to the Stanford Prison Study conducted by the speaker.
The "Bad Apple" Hypothesis
- Questioning whether it was solely a few rogue soldiers or if there were systemic factors at play.
- Becoming an expert witness for one of the guards, Sergeant Chip Frederick.
Access to Evidence
- Gaining access to investigative reports and studying Sergeant Chip Frederick.
- Analyzing over 1,000 pictures taken by American soldiers during the scandal.
Pressure and Interrogation Techniques
This section explores how pressure was exerted on soldiers at Abu Ghraib to cross ethical boundaries in order to extract information from prisoners.
Tier 1-A: Center for Military Intelligence
- Describing Tier 1-A as the center for military intelligence and interrogation hold.
- Mentioning the presence of CIA personnel and interrogators from Titan Corporation.
Breaking the Will of the Enemy
- Explaining that pressure was applied to military police to break prisoners' wills.
- Referring to euphemisms like "taking gloves off" or "softening them up."
Conclusion
This section concludes with a reference to going down into a dungeon, implying further exploration of the topic.
Abu Ghraib Iraq Prison Abuses 2008 Military Police Guards' Photos
This section discusses the Abu Ghraib prison abuses in Iraq in 2008 and the photos taken by military police guards.
Abu Ghraib Prison Abuses
- The images include nudity and graphic depictions of violence.
- The photos were taken by military police guards.
Understanding Human Character Transformations
This section explores the transformation of human character and how psychologists try to understand it.
The Case of "Shit Boy"
- A mentally ill prisoner at Abu Ghraib was referred to as "Shit Boy" by the guards.
- Questions why a mentally ill person was in a prison instead of a mental institution.
Understanding Human Character Transformations
- Former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld asked who was responsible for the abuses, but it is more important to understand what is responsible, including the situation and system.
- There are three ways psychologists try to understand human character transformations: dispositional, situational, and systemic.
- Social scientists often focus on external factors around individuals, such as the situation or "bad barrel," but they miss the power of the system that creates corrupt situations.
- To change a person, you need to change the situation by understanding where the power lies in the system.
The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil
This section introduces "The Lucifer Effect" and discusses how good people can turn evil.
The Lucifer Effect
- "The Lucifer Effect" focuses on understanding how good people turn evil.
- The human mind has the capacity for both kindness and cruelty, creativity and destruction.
- The study by Stanley Milgram explores whether ordinary people would electrocute a stranger under authority.
The Milgram Experiment
- Stanley Milgram tested 1,000 ordinary people to see if they would administer electric shocks to a learner under authority.
- Participants were told it was a memory experiment and were rewarded for correct answers but had to administer shocks for incorrect answers.
- Despite the potential harm, many participants continued to administer shocks as instructed by the authority figure.
Conclusion
This section concludes the talk on understanding human character transformations and highlights the capacity for both good and evil in individuals.
Understanding Human Character Transformations
- Human character transformations involve an interplay between personal traits, situational factors, and the system that creates and maintains the situation.
- "The Lucifer Effect" book provides more detail on understanding how good people can turn evil.
The Complexity of Human Nature
- Humans are complex beings with positive and negative personality traits that emerge depending on circumstances.
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New Section
This section discusses the Milgram experiment and the surprising results that challenge our understanding of obedience to authority.
The Milgram Experiment
- The Milgram experiment involved participants administering electric shocks to another person under the instruction of an experimenter.
- Participants were told to continue administering shocks even when the other person expressed distress and claimed to have a heart condition.
- Psychiatrists predicted that only one percent of participants would go all the way to 450 volts, considering it sadistic behavior.
- However, in reality, two-thirds of participants went all the way to 450 volts, contradicting the psychiatrists' predictions.
- Different studies conducted by Milgram consistently showed high levels of obedience, with 90 percent going all the way in certain conditions.
Quantifying Evil
- Milgram quantified evil as the willingness of people to blindly obey authority and go all the way to 450 volts.
- This experiment revealed that almost everybody can be made obedient or completely disobedient based on external factors.
External Parallels
- The study's findings have real-world parallels, such as the tragic events in Guyana where American citizens committed suicide or were murdered due to blind obedience to their pastor, Reverend Jim Jones.
- These examples demonstrate how individuals can be influenced by authority figures and engage in extreme behaviors.
New Section
This section introduces the Stanford Prison Study conducted by Philip Zimbardo and explores how institutions can influence individual behavior.
The Stanford Prison Study
- The Stanford Prison Study focused on studying the power of institutions in influencing individual behavior.
- The study involved randomly assigning participants as prisoners or guards in a simulated prison environment.
- Normal and healthy individuals were selected for the study, and it was expected that there would be no difference between those assigned as guards or prisoners.
The Prisoner Experience
- The prisoners were not aware of the realistic arrests that would take place during the study.
- They were subjected to dehumanizing treatment by the guards, including cleaning toilets with bare hands and sexual taunting.
- The stress and degradation led to emotional breakdowns among some of the participants within a short period.
Changing Appearances in Warfare
- The study raises questions about how warriors treat their victims based on their appearance.
- Different cultures have different practices, such as painting themselves or wearing masks, which may impact their behavior towards others.
New Section
This section discusses the personal involvement of Philip Zimbardo in conducting the Stanford Prison Study and provides insights into its methodology.
Personal Involvement
- Philip Zimbardo conducted the Stanford Prison Study with his graduate students, particularly Craig Haney.
- They placed an ad seeking college students for a study on prison life.
Methodology
- 75 people volunteered for the study and underwent personality tests and interviews.
- Two dozen individuals were selected based on being considered normal and healthy.
- Participants were randomly assigned as either prisoners or guards.
Realistic Arrests
- The participants who were assigned as prisoners experienced realistic arrests conducted by city police officers without prior knowledge.
- This added to the authenticity of the prison environment created for the study.
The Psychology of Evil
In this section, the speaker discusses the factors that contribute to evil behavior and the power of anonymity.
The Slippery Slope of Evil
- If individuals don't change their appearance, only one out of eight kills, tortures, or mutilates. The key is in the red zone.
- If individuals change their appearance, 12 out of 13 (90%) kill, torture, or mutilate.
Seven Social Processes that Contribute to Evil
- Mindlessly taking the first small step.
- Dehumanization of others.
- De-individuation of self.
- Diffusion of personal responsibility.
- Blind obedience to authority.
- Uncritical conformity to group norms.
- Passive tolerance of evil through inaction or indifference.
Understanding Evil
- "Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing more difficult than understanding him," Dostoyevsky. Understanding is not excusing. Psychology is not excuse-ology.
- Social and psychological research reveals how ordinary people can be transformed without drugs by utilizing social-psychological processes. Real-world parallels exist.
Accountability and Abuse
- Psychologists have attempted to understand why individuals and groups who usually act humanely can sometimes act otherwise in certain circumstances (Lucifer effect). Cautionary tale for all military operations according to James Schlesinger.
- Giving people power without oversight leads to abuse. Leadership failures contributed to the occurrence of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. Systemic issues were responsible for allowing abuses to go on for three months without intervention from higher authorities.
Paradigm Shift towards a Public Health Model
- A paradigm shift is needed from the medical model that focuses only on the individual to a public health model that recognizes situational and systemic vectors of disease. Bullying, prejudice, and violence are diseases.
- Problems at the individual level cannot be effectively addressed. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn states, "The line between good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being."
Heroism as an Antidote to Evil
- Promoting the heroic imagination in children and education systems can combat evil. Encouraging kids to think of themselves as heroes in waiting who will act heroically when the right situation arises.
- Ordinary people can perform heroic deeds, counteracting Hannah Arendt's "Banality of Evil." The focus should be on everyday heroes rather than supernatural figures.
Examples of Heroism
- Joe Darby stopped abuses at Abu Ghraib by turning over evidence to a senior investigating officer despite facing threats to his life and his family's safety.
- The woman who stopped the Stanford Prison Study recognized the harm being done to participants and confronted those responsible, leading to an end of the study.
The Power of Situations
- Situations have the power to inflame hostile imagination or inspire heroic imagination in individuals. Most people are guilty of the evil of inaction due to societal norms, but it is important to recognize that humanity is everyone's business.
Heroes and Heroism
In this section, the speaker discusses the concept of heroism and highlights the key elements that define a hero. The story of Wesley Autrey, a New York subway hero, is shared as an example.
The Key to Heroism
- Heroes are ordinary people whose social actions are extraordinary.
- Two key elements of heroism:
- Acting when others are passive.
- Acting socio-centrically, not egocentrically.
The Story of Wesley Autrey
- Wesley Autrey, a fifty-year-old African-American construction worker, was standing on a subway platform.
- A white guy falls onto the tracks while a subway train approaches.
- Approximately 75 people freeze and do not take action.
- Despite having reasons not to get involved (being black with two kids), Autrey jumps onto the tracks.
- He puts himself between the fallen man and the tracks and lays on top of him as the subway train passes over them.
Extraordinary Act of Heroism
- Wesley Autrey's height was only 20.5 inches, while the train clearance was 21 inches.
- His act saved both his life and the life of the fallen man by just half an inch.
The Moral Imperative
- Autrey considers his act as something anyone could do; it was no big deal for him to jump on the tracks.
- The moral imperative is that everyone should do what he did in such situations.
Choosing Paths in Life
- Three paths individuals can choose:
- Path one: Becoming perpetrators of evil by cheating or allowing bullying (e.g., Arthur Andersen).
- Path two: Being guilty of passive inaction when faced with evil.
- Path three: Becoming heroes by taking action against evil.
Celebrating Ordinary Heroes
- It is important to be ready to take the path of celebrating ordinary heroes.
- Waiting for the right situation to put heroic imagination into action may only happen once in a lifetime.
- Regretting not taking action when the opportunity arises can be avoided by thinking and then doing.
Conclusion
In this concluding section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of acting on one's heroic instincts and encourages individuals to seize opportunities to make a positive impact.
Thinking and Doing
- The point is not just thinking about being a hero but actually taking action.
- Individuals should strive to act on their heroic instincts when faced with situations that require it.