Is Abu Ghraib How Good People Turn Evil - 945 Words

Social Psychology Week 8 For this week’s discussion I was given, Genocide to Abu Ghraib: How good people turn evil. Abu Ghraib prison was a US Army detention center for captured Iraqis from 2003 to 2006. An investigation into the treatment of detainees at the prison was started by the unearthing of graphic photos showing guards abusing detainees in 2003. According to Fiske et al., (2010), aggression is generally defined as any behavior that is intended to harm another person who does not want to be harmed; it is an external behavior that can’t be seen, that isn’t thought in someone’s mind and is a social behavior (p.833). In 2007, Zimbardo published The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil, a book based on the Stanford Prison†¦show more content†¦24). The report also faults multiple leaders for failing to conduct needed training after deployment (Taguba, 2004, p. 24). According to Zimbardo (2007) and Bartone (2008), contextual factors alone are not enough to explain why some individuals engaged in, and/or tolerated prisoner abuse—one also must consider the psychological personality factors that played a role in fostering the abuse and torture of prisoners. Bartone (2008), suggested three theoretical perspectives and the two dispositional factors I will use for this discussion are: Lack of Hardiness: â€Å"Hardiness is a personality style that predicts who will be resilient, thrive and remain healthy under stress versus who is more likely to suffer. Recent work shows that hardiness also influences short- and long-term mental health adjustment to major stressors, including war-related stressors (Bartone, 2008, p.5). Psychological Development: Bartone (2008), suggested that Kegan (2004) third-order of consciousness could explain from a developmental perspective, how Soldiers in the Abu Ghraib situation could have tolerated and participated in prisoner abuse. In Dr. Kegan s work, he outlines Five Orders of Consciousness: First Order:Show MoreRelatedWhat Brings Out The Worst Of Good People?911 Words   |  4 PagesWhat brings out the worst in good people? In 2007, Zimbardo wrote a book called â€Å"The Lucifer Effect† which discusses the underlying factors that make good people turn evil (Zimbardo, 2007). The â€Å"Lucifer Effect† refers to God’s angel who had fallen, turned against God only to become Satan. The book itself, is Zimbardo’s detailed account of the Stanford Prison Experiment and its importance to the abuses in the Abu Ghraib prison by American soldiers. Zimbardo uses the prison experiment to illustrateRead MoreDr. Zimbardo s The Lucifer Effect 1491 Words   |  6 Pagespromotes good will and condemns evil. So what makes ‘good people’ turn the corner between good and evil? We often see evil as an outside force interrupting our lives! We consider evil an entity or quality that is inherent in some people, that turn people into monsters! Unimag inable atrocities like the 9/11 incidents are caused by disturbed minds, not by us, normal people! We could never do something like that! Dr. Zimbardo’s book, ‘The Lucifer Effect’ is an effort to understand how good, decentRead MoreGeorge Zimbardo s Mock Prison Experiment And Other Past Events1507 Words   |  7 Pagestheme of â€Å"good† people turning evil under the pressure and influences of different ideas and people are commonly seen. This idea of good people turning bad was further strengthen in Philip Zimbardo’s Mock Prison Experiment and other past events such as the French Foreign Legion, the guards in the Abu Ghraib prison, and so on. This event demonstrated that even innocent, good beings could transform into an abusive and evil person, given the right conditions and incentives. So what is good and whatRead MoreTheorist : Philip Zimbardo s `` The Lucifer Effect ``984 Words   |  4 PagesTheorist: Philip Zimbardo â€Å" what makes people go wrong?† Dr Philip G. Zimbardo asked himself this very question at a young age. He believes that depending on the situation good people will do bad things and the line between good and evil is very much there and can easily be crossed. Philip Zimbardo, contributed to the field of psychology immensely in multiple ways, one being his theory, called the â€Å"The Lucifer Effect†, another being the Stanford prison experiment. Zimbardo was born in New YorkRead MoreGood People Can Do Evil Things781 Words   |  3 Pagesunder certain circumstances good people can, and will do evil things. There’s many examples of these occurrences throughout our very own history, such as the more recent Abu Ghraib incident. In â€Å"The Lucifer Effect† is a theory which tries to explain why these good people had committed such heinous deeds. The Milgram, and Stanford prison experiments provide us with empirical evidence supporting the Lucifer Effect. Zimbardo’s theories helps us to try and understand why people do the things that they do;Read MoreThe Genocidal Killer in the Mirror† by Crispin Sartwell and Erich Fromm’s Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem1286 Words   |  6 Pagesthe pursuit of safety, acceptance, and the public good, many atrocities have been committed in places such as Abu Ghraib and My Lai, where simple, generally harmless people became the wiling torture rs and murderers of innocent people. Many claim to have just been following orders, which illustrates a disturbing trend in both the modern military and modern societies as a whole; when forced into an obedient mindset, many normal and everyday people can become tools of destruction and sorrow, uncaringlyRead MoreEssay The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil1788 Words   |  8 Pagesnature: How is it possible for ordinary, average, even good people to become perpetrators of evil? In trying to understand unusual, or aberrant behavior, we often err in focusing exclusively on the inner determinants of genes, personality, and character, as we also tend to ignore what may be the critical catalyst for behavior change in the external Situation or in the System that creates and maintains such situations. I challenge readers to reflect on how well they really know themselves, and how muchRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiment : Research On Situational Power Essay1883 Wo rds   |  8 PagesBronx. Zimbardo explains how the violent gang takeover of his neighborhood had initiated his an interest to delve deeper into these â€Å"situational upheavals† (The Journey From The Bronx to Stanford to Abu Ghraib, 2008). Evidently, it was during the early years in Zimbardo’s life that the foundations of his psychological interest began. His interest in aggression and violence seemed from the question of â€Å"how ‘good’ people are seduced or induced to engage in violent, or ‘evil’ deeds by situational forces†Read MoreThe Legacy Of Ford s Policies1682 Words   |  7 PagesAmericans with a sense of control over their destinies and hopes for new possibilities. (Colt, 2013). Automobile industrialization, in turn, fueled other industries, such as oil, rubber, and steel, and it spurred construction of roads and roadside hospitality developments. (Colt, 2013). Once a conglomeration of small, rural towns, America became cities concentrated with people and manufacturing developments, and its previously rural values turned into urban ones. (Colt, 2013). The strong capitalist resultRead MorePhilip Zimbardo s The Lucifer Effect On Understanding How Good People Turn Evil 1593 Words   |  7 PagesPhilip Zimbardo is one of the greatest American psychologist’s of our time. Zimbardo is an extremely intelligent psychologist with many accomplishments. He has spent most of his life committed to researching how and why people’s behavior change in situations, unexpectedly. For example, a good person committing a bad crime. Zimbardo’s research has brought a lot of knowledge to the study of psychology. His work has helped me to better understand the reasoning behind people’s behaviors and actions