The Lucifer Effect
By Philip Zimbardo
When we read about places where people do bad things to other people, such as Rwanda, we often assume it can never happen here. Phillip Zimbardo in his bestselling book, the Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil suggests otherwise.
We often attribute bad actions, such as genocides or the misbehaviours of corporate executives or government officials to personal character flaws, such as greed, the obsessive grasping for power or anti-social personality defects. We consider ourselves to be immune to such behaviours, that we would never do certain things under any circumstances.
However, people who are placed in an unfamiliar environment with a different set of role models, rules of behaviour, and social norms, often do things that they would never think of doing in a different situation. Numerous social experiments highlight our intrinsic need to conform to social norms.
A classic example was the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib Prison by young American soldiers.
Phillip Zimbardo is a professor specializing in social psychology who researches the dark side that exists inside of all of us. In his famous (some would say infamous) Stanford Prison Experiment, he placed two dozen well adjusted, middle class college students into a prison environment, with some of the students acting as prisoners and the others as prison guards.
His researchers carefully screened college volunteers for the experiment, rejecting applicants with physical and psychological problems. The volunteers were randomly assigned to the roles of prison guard or prisoners.
The prison guards were given a short training session. The prisoners were picked up by the police, processed at the police stations, and transferred with their eyes covered by blindfolds to a simulated prison in the basement of the university psychology building.
Both groups wore special uniforms.
To depersonalize each group, "prisoners" were assigned numbers and "prison guards" wore aviator sunglasses. The experiment was intended to last two weeks. After six days, the shocked researchers stopped the experiment.
In only six days, the "prisoners" started displaying symptoms of passivity, dependence and depression. Half of the "prisoners" had to be removed from the prison due to severe stress and cognitive disorders. The "prison guards" ordered the prisoners around, insulted and threatened them, and demonstrated a cycle of increased aggression that led to concerns about the safety of the "prisoners."
Fortunately, both groups of student volunteers quickly rebounded after the experiment. After all, they were normal, well-adjusted individuals who were thoroughly screened in advance. However, the speed and intensity that problems developed in the experiment really got me thinking about how intrinsically good we are and how I would have behaved in a similar set of circumstances.
This book describes the Stanford Prison Experiment and the conclusions Philip Zimbardo made as a result of the study. Throughout the book, he applies the insights gained from the study to explore recent bad behaviour by groups of people, such as the Abu Ghraib's abuses and the actions of Enron executives.
On a positive note, he highlights ways in which we can learn to resist bad environmental influences, at work or in society, and celebrates the individuals who do not follow the crowd. After all, there were many Germans during the Second World War who hid Jews and other minorities from the Nazis at great personal risk.
The Lucifer Effect can be found in the non-fiction area of the Prince George Public Library.
- Reviewed By John Shepherd, former trustee for the Prince George Public Library Board
Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope
by Olivia Gardner
When sisters Emily and Sarah Buder learned about the merciless bullying Oliver Gardner was receiving because of her seizures, the two sisters knew they had to do something. They started a letter-writing campaign where they encouraged people who had experienced bullying or been bullies themselves to write to Olivia to offer support and show her how much they cared. What resulted was a huge influx of letters that has been compiled into a powerful, timely book.
This inspiring collection of letters shows the deep, lasting impact bullying has on people's lives. People from all walks of life who have experienced bullying-from small children to adults to seniors-responded to the Buder sister's requests, including parents whose children took their own lives as a result of being bullied.
Letters to a Bullied Girl is not only an excellent read for teens who are struggling to cope with bullying on a daily basis, but also an eye-opening read for the adults in their lives. Reading Letters to a Bullied Girl is a great place to start to understand and learn about the seriousness of bullying, and more importantly to find ways to talk to their teens about it.
Find Letters to a Bullied Girl at both branches of the Prince George Public Library.
- Reviewed by Amy Dawley, Teen Librarian at the Prince George Public Library
