In the preface of Philip Zimbardo’s non-fiction book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, he uncovers various reasonings on what influenced him into conducting the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE). Part of his inspiration for writing this book was heavily based on the Abu Ghraib Prison Trial where he was the expert witness to one of the prison guards, Sergeant Ivan “Chip” Douglas, who was convicted of the many tortures and murders of the prisoners that occurred at the prison. He becomes somewhat of an “investigative reporter than a social psychologist” as he studies this individual’s life and background history to better understand why he would possibly commit these violent crimes. Frustrated by the military’s
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He uses many supportive examples of why situational power can influence a normal human being into committing acts of evil, even giving examples of his childhood as he lived in poverty within the Bronx and watched as his close friends became victim to the “Banality of Evil.” Zimbardo also examines the good in people and how some mortals can fight the temptation over situational forces simply by organizing their lives around humanitarian causes. Within the preface, Zimbardo covers the corrupted acts that occurred in the Abu Ghraib, the difference between individual power and situational power, and the rare heroes fighting against temptation.
In the beginning of the preface, Zimbardo overviews his intense research of the Abu Ghraib Prison’s torture and murders. He was a devoted expert witness to one …show more content…
He finds that most psychologists often ignore this important factor that rules our behavior. To prevent undesirable behavior within a person, according to Zimbardo, we must understand the strength and vulnerabilities the person brings to the given situation. We must observe and dig deeper into the situation causing this wrong behavior rather than trying to correct the victim without giving it another thought. Zimbardo compares these situational forces to his experience growing up in poverty within the Bronx. During this time, he developed a survival strategy called “street-smarts”—knowing who to avoid, who to look up to, and how to go from follower to leader. In the ghetto, where the only possession people had was each other, Zimbardo had to witness many good kids grow up to become victims of violence. Many teens that dealt with abuse in their past often would take their suppressed anger out in violent actions, often resulting in arrests. Being in gangs would normally consist of fights, vandalism, and intimidating helpless people. Zimbardo remarks that none of these actions were considered wrong; it was merely “obeying the group leader” and “conforming to the norms of the gang”. Systemic power, according to the kids, were the big bad janitors, land lords, and—worst of all—the police. Zimbardo recalls his negative experience with the police
He uses many supportive examples of why situational power can influence a normal human being into committing acts of evil, even giving examples of his childhood as he lived in poverty within the Bronx and watched as his close friends became victim to the “Banality of Evil.” Zimbardo also examines the good in people and how some mortals can fight the temptation over situational forces simply by organizing their lives around humanitarian causes. Within the preface, Zimbardo covers the corrupted acts that occurred in the Abu Ghraib, the difference between individual power and situational power, and the rare heroes fighting against temptation.
In the beginning of the preface, Zimbardo overviews his intense research of the Abu Ghraib Prison’s torture and murders. He was a devoted expert witness to one …show more content…
He finds that most psychologists often ignore this important factor that rules our behavior. To prevent undesirable behavior within a person, according to Zimbardo, we must understand the strength and vulnerabilities the person brings to the given situation. We must observe and dig deeper into the situation causing this wrong behavior rather than trying to correct the victim without giving it another thought. Zimbardo compares these situational forces to his experience growing up in poverty within the Bronx. During this time, he developed a survival strategy called “street-smarts”—knowing who to avoid, who to look up to, and how to go from follower to leader. In the ghetto, where the only possession people had was each other, Zimbardo had to witness many good kids grow up to become victims of violence. Many teens that dealt with abuse in their past often would take their suppressed anger out in violent actions, often resulting in arrests. Being in gangs would normally consist of fights, vandalism, and intimidating helpless people. Zimbardo remarks that none of these actions were considered wrong; it was merely “obeying the group leader” and “conforming to the norms of the gang”. Systemic power, according to the kids, were the big bad janitors, land lords, and—worst of all—the police. Zimbardo recalls his negative experience with the police