Lucifer Effect
by Glenn Chapman
MONTEREY, California (AFP) - The very design of Abu Ghraib in Iraq turned good soldiers into evil tormentors that humiliated and brutalized prisoners, a famed social psychologist said Thursday.
Stanford University professor Philip Zimbardo described a "Lucifer effect" as he flashed shocking images of Abu Ghraib horrors for those at an elite Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in California.
"If you give people power without oversight it is a formula for abuse," Zimbardo said to a stunned audience the included famous actors, entrepreneurs and politicians.
"Abu Ghraib abuses went on for three months ... Who was watching the store? Nobody, and it was on purpose."
AFP/SBS/File Photo: A 2006 photo shows a hooded prisoner allegedly being tortured at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib...
"Heroism is the antidote to evil," Zimbardo said. "Let's focus on justice and peace, which sadly our administration has not been doing."
posted by Indigobusiness @ Tuesday, March 04, 2008
2 Comments
2 Comments:
This also reminds me of the Milgram Experiment at Yale. People in authority saying, yeah...go ahead, it's ok, is a suprisingly compelling way to get people to put aside their souls and embrace evil. We've seen it lately again with the telecommunication companies who spied on Americans even though they knew it was illegal -- maybe not as personal as what went on at Abu Ghraib, but in the same psychological ballpark.
No kidding, Joe. "The Perils of Obedience" have always been a major issue with me.
I'm truly shocked by the power of authority over mostly decent people. Abusive authority is a nightmare.
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