“Over the years, the importance of leadership in producing toxicity has become clearer,” writes Stephen Reicher, a pyschology professor at the University of St Andrews, in The Economist
. Some 24 young men were randomly divided into the role of prisoner or guard and consigned to a simulated prison. According to the textbook account, the guards very quickly became brutal, the prisoners became passive and the result was so toxic that the study—scheduled for two weeks—had to be abruptly halted after only six days.
In 1961 Hannah Arendt reported on the trial in Jerusalem of Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi functionary in charge of deportations to the death camps, observing that he acted out of ordinary motives . In the same year, Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale, ran his infamous study on obedience. Participants were told to apply electric shocks to someone in another room each time they erred in a memory task.
The two events seemed to show that perpetrators of brutality were not inherent monsters after all but regular people. The implication was that in certain circumstances, any one of us could act monstrously. The Stanford prison study, which ran from August 15th to 21st 1971, seemed to take Milgram’s point a step further. It appeared to show that an authority figure wasn’t even needed to stand over people to get them to act inhumanely.
This is troubling. The interpretation not only ignores the role of authority figures in producing toxic behaviour, but it excuses the perpetrators from blame. It’s just what we do. We can’t be held responsible. Such a conclusion is not an extrapolation from Dr Zimbardo’s argument: it is his argument. After prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib in Iraq came to light, Dr Zimbardo acted as an expert witness for the defence. He argued that the abusive guards, just like the young men in his Stanford study, were more victims than perpetrators—helplessly succumbing to toxicity in a toxic environment.those arguments.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
9 Aaliyah Samples In Hip-Hop & R&B That Prove Her Music's TimelessThe late R&B star’s legacy has lived on in the songs of others.
Leer más »
Do You Blame Yourself for Other People’s Problems?People who are chronic apologizers might be so overpowered by empathy that they have trouble putting things into perspective. Here's why.
Leer más »
Storm tracker: Follow Ida’s pathIda is forecast to bring major storm surge and flooding when it makes landfall Sunday.
Leer más »
These Teens Are Breaking Down Mental Health Stigma One Podcast at a TimeTalking about mental health can help break down stigma, which is exactly what this new teen-led podcast aims to do. ReportingLabs
Leer más »
Stephen Daldry’s ‘Together’ In Theaters; Halsey On Imax, ‘Stripes’ Turns 40 – Specialty PreviewTogether, the lockdown drama from Bleeker Street, opens on 250 screens this weekend in a specialty market treading water and with little visibility on box office amid daily Covid headlines. The tre…
Leer más »