LA Times has a nice piece on group dynamics, particularly related to situations in which group members commit evil deeds. Much of this falls under the Social Psychology umbrella, and the topic that seemed to receive the most time is how a group member can lose their moral compass. Phil Zimbardo, one of the most influential social psychologists ever (and quoted in the story) studies the this phenomenon. Through his work (which includes the Stanford Prison Experiment) he has concluded that people commiting evil acts are not necessarily “bad seeds”, but are actually good people that commit evil acts based on several situational factors. Consider the Abu Grahib prison abuse scenario, and then consider these key elements:

a) an acceptable rationale for the behavior is created (part of interrogation)
b) contractual obligation for the behavior is arranged (following orders)
c) there is opportunity to diffuse responsibility for the behavior (many other soldiers were involved)
d) others are dehumanized (the prisoners are “evil terrorists”)
e) you are depersonalized (wear uniform)

Considering these situational factors is something that many people do not do when evaluating certain actions, and just because they are present obviously does not alleviate guilt. However, the key is knowing that they exist as a way to prevent yourself and situations you are involved in from becomming those in which evil acts can be perpetrated on any level.

Comments

This post currently has one comment. You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts on our new comments page.

Trackbacks

No trackbacks yet to this post.

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 17 Jul 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.