Introduction
The book The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo argues that beneath any man lies some degree of evil, so detrimental if exposed under duress. The Lucifer Effect explains how good men can transform when exposed to stressful environments to commit heinous activities beyond imaginable moral magnitudes. In this regard, the author empirically explains the findings of the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) the processes involved in transforming good men into committing evil and heinous activities under duress and powerful situational forces. A comparison between the SPE findings and those of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq have strong correlations in the sense that ordinary men can become susceptible to situational powers triggering them to act evil (Zimbardo, 2007).
Summary
Zimbardo’s book The Lucifer Effect asks seeks to answer fundamental questions about human morality and behaviors. He seeks to answer the question why good people are persuaded to commit evil. Why are moral human beings seduced to become immoral? What are the distinguishing factors separating evil from good, and the lethality of crossing the veneer? From the book, the author enumerates several reasons why all men are vulnerable to becoming evil, especially when exposed to duress. He draws from his trailblazing Stanford Prison Experiment to justify how group dynamics and situational forces may influence good men to become monsters (Hong, 2012). During the study, he engaged college students to become inmates and guards in order to simulate a prison environment. However, an experiment that was meant to take two weeks was halted after the first week, when “good” student’s in the experiment metamorphosed into sadists, brutal and emotionally strained prisoners. Through the experiment, Zimbardo helps the reader reflect on the harrowing experience that Abu Ghraib prisoners went through in the hands of American soldiers who tortured and abused them during the detention (Zimbardo, 2007). The findings reflect on the idea of “bad apple” in the possession of “bad barrel” depicting the notion that social settings and stressful systems may negatively influence an individual, and the vice versa is not true. The book is like a mirror to humans, showing that on one hand we are moral and humane but if exposed to duress we can turn into dissidents on the other hand.
Analysis
Essentially, I agree with Zimbardo’s hypothesis that situational forces may transform good men into evil and immoral individuals. In my view, tough situations not just in the prison but also difficult economic times may pull good men into bad ways unimaginable. The distance between good and evil is permeable and very thin, which can be crossed by any man. It is possible for any man to be like Mother Theresa but at the same time circumstances, whether social or economic, can turn good men into Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler. Practically, the Lucifer Effect can easily be demonstrated by the crime levels in low-income neighborhoods compared to upper-class neighborhoods. People living in slums are in duress due to tough economic times, poor access to utilities and basic commodities. These circumstances put them under duress and it is for that reason that poor but good men turn into evil/crime/prostitution to salvage themselves from the biting situational forces. In as much as I agree with the findings of Zimbardo, I find the method of research inappropriate. For instance, in the experiment all the participants knew the outcomes that the researcher wanted to achieve; and therefore, it was possible to accentuate the behaviors to the bias of the researcher. The greatest misgiving of an experiment were the participants already know the expected outcome is that the margin of error caused by bias is high as opposed to a study where the respondents are in their natural setting. Nonetheless, the article presents important viewpoints useful in the field of psychology explaining the dark triad of personality. Initially, psychologists had three traits for the dark personalities, which included narcissism, marchiavellianism, and psychopathy; however, after the SPE, they discovered a new trait which is sadism, where the perpetrator derives pleasure from inflicting pain on the victim. The implication of the study is that whereas prisons are expected to become correctional facilities, duress and difficult circumstances in the prisons may instead make the offenders worse so that by the time they leave. This statement can, in part, explain the high number of recidivism cases in the United States.
Conclusion
Zimbardo’s book The Lucifer Effect is very critical in understanding behavior and the outcomes of situational powers in the moral standing of an individual. The articles point to the fact that difficult situations can turn good men into evildoers; a hypothesis, that the author justifies using the Stanford Prison Study.
References
Hong, M. J. K. (2012). The Lucifer Effect'. Hein Online.
Zimbardo, P. G. (2007). Lucifer Effect. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
