The LUCIFER EFFECT
Richard Williams
University of Central Arkansas The LUCIFER EFFECT
Take a deep breath, then exhale, and now ask yourself this question: “Are you, your family members, your friends, the people you work with, or the good person sitting beside you exempt from doing acts of evil or becoming evil?” When polling my friends and family most answered rapidly with: “Of course I am not evil,” “I have morals and go to church,” “I’ve known my family forever….nobody in my immediate family at-least would ever knowingly commit an evil act,” and/or “hum, I’ve never thought or been asked that question.” Since most of us live such fast paced lives we don’t typically take the time to notice our environments concerning evil, especially not …show more content…
Evil consists in intentionally behaving in ways that harm, abuse, demean, dehumanize, or destroy innocent others—or using one’s …show more content…
For one thing it was a controlled environment. The prisoners and guards all had no prior history of anti-social behavior, crime, or violence. The majority were college students which means their intelligence was above average, lower in prejudice, and more confident than their peers who are less educated (Zimbardo, 2007). While there remained few good guards, some obedient prisoners and good experimental staff, they all experienced this horrid experiment and kept it going for longer than they should have thus falling victim to evil of inaction. The majority of the guards who enjoyed their newfound power began to behave sadistically. They were demeaning or dehumanizing at times (Zimbardo, 2006). Towards the end they would torment the prisoners without reason. While the SPE was originally started with the prisoners in mind the biggest surprise to me was how evil crept in to affect the supposed “good guys”’ the guards and the oversight
Richard Williams
University of Central Arkansas The LUCIFER EFFECT
Take a deep breath, then exhale, and now ask yourself this question: “Are you, your family members, your friends, the people you work with, or the good person sitting beside you exempt from doing acts of evil or becoming evil?” When polling my friends and family most answered rapidly with: “Of course I am not evil,” “I have morals and go to church,” “I’ve known my family forever….nobody in my immediate family at-least would ever knowingly commit an evil act,” and/or “hum, I’ve never thought or been asked that question.” Since most of us live such fast paced lives we don’t typically take the time to notice our environments concerning evil, especially not …show more content…
Evil consists in intentionally behaving in ways that harm, abuse, demean, dehumanize, or destroy innocent others—or using one’s …show more content…
For one thing it was a controlled environment. The prisoners and guards all had no prior history of anti-social behavior, crime, or violence. The majority were college students which means their intelligence was above average, lower in prejudice, and more confident than their peers who are less educated (Zimbardo, 2007). While there remained few good guards, some obedient prisoners and good experimental staff, they all experienced this horrid experiment and kept it going for longer than they should have thus falling victim to evil of inaction. The majority of the guards who enjoyed their newfound power began to behave sadistically. They were demeaning or dehumanizing at times (Zimbardo, 2006). Towards the end they would torment the prisoners without reason. While the SPE was originally started with the prisoners in mind the biggest surprise to me was how evil crept in to affect the supposed “good guys”’ the guards and the oversight