The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil
by Philip G. Zimbardo
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 241)
Read in April, 2008
recommended to MadRubicante by:
The Daily Showrecommends it for: people interested in pyschology and the study of evil
I saw Dr. Zimbardo on the Daily Show about two years ago promoting his book. He's got a lot of character and energy to him, not to mention vast intelligence.
I picked up the book not long after that, but since it was new and a slow read, I had to give it back to the library half finished.
So, while browsing the library, I rediscovered it and gave it a second chance because what I had read so far was interesting.
The book is about the frailty of man, how quickly and easily the fall into ...more
I picked up the book not long after that, but since it was new and a slow read, I had to give it back to the library half finished.
So, while browsing the library, I rediscovered it and gave it a second chance because what I had read so far was interesting.
The book is about the frailty of man, how quickly and easily the fall into ...more
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Read in September, 2008
Philip Zimbardo’s The Lucifer Effect is a difficult read, not because its premise is particularly startling, but because its dissection of the psychology of evil shows it to be disturbingly simple. By positioning each act of breathtaking cruelty beside a description of its perpetrator--invariably an ordinary, psychologically normal person--the author makes clear that we are just animals socialized into one behavior, and easily socialized into another. And though Zimbardo never outright asks it...more
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Read in July, 2008
"Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil."
"The terrible paradox of the Inquisition is that the ardent and often sincere desire to combat evil generated evil on a grander scale than the world had ever seen before."
"...but only by examining and understanding the causes of such evil might we be able to change it, to contain it, to tranform it through wise dec...more
"The terrible paradox of the Inquisition is that the ardent and often sincere desire to combat evil generated evil on a grander scale than the world had ever seen before."
"...but only by examining and understanding the causes of such evil might we be able to change it, to contain it, to tranform it through wise dec...more
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Read in May, 2008
I, after a couple of weeks, have finally finished “The Lucifer Effect.” I normally don’t dog ear books because, well, that’s almost sacrilegious, but there were points that I knew I wanted to come back to. Like this one which really came out there unexpectedly, and had me laughing so hard.
After asking what his parents do, his religious background, and whether he goes to church regularly, Prescott is angered by the prisoner’s statement this his religion is “nondenominational. He retorts, “You haven’t even decided about something as important as that either.” ...more
After asking what his parents do, his religious background, and whether he goes to church regularly, Prescott is angered by the prisoner’s statement this his religion is “nondenominational. He retorts, “You haven’t even decided about something as important as that either.” ...more
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recommends it for:
concerned about waterboarding?
I took a class with Dr. Zimbardo way back when, at a time when his newest research was on shyness. I mentioned this to a granddaughter because he was lecturing at her university last week. She attended and thought he would have been an exciting teacher - he was.
This is a clearly written, coherent summary of the famous research which demonstrated how easy it is to induce moral people to do immoral things. Mostly, the book seems to be Dr. Zimbardo's personal apology to the world for having...more
This is a clearly written, coherent summary of the famous research which demonstrated how easy it is to induce moral people to do immoral things. Mostly, the book seems to be Dr. Zimbardo's personal apology to the world for having...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
ehh, not sure
Well, interesting title and interesting subject, but I highly doubt his hypothesis. This book was borne out of Philip Zimbardo's work with a U.S. army soldier, who was one of the prison guards at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Zimbardo is also the one who ran the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment in the 1970s. Basically, his premise in this book is that circumstances shape the individual, and our actions can be molded by the circumstances that we are in. E.g., it was the duress and egregious circumst...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
This book helps answer a question that has been puzzling and troubling me for decades: how do ordinary people become monsters, willing to commit violence against others? Zimbardo's argument, backed up with research, is that we are much more influenced by context than we would like to admit. Under circumstances that dehumanize other people, and reduce our sense of individual responsibility, we are all capable of terrible things. His purpose is not to excuse individuals from their personal resp...more
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Read in October, 2007
I was excited to read this, since I have a psychology background and had heard that it was a good look at the Stanford Prison Experiment, which I studied in college. I wasn't too impressed with this book though. It is at least 100 pages too long and bogged down by excessive detail, making it read like a numbing textbook. The breakdown is as follows: 200 pages on Zimbardo's Prison Experiment, 100 pages of analysis of the experiment, 75 pages on Abu Ghraib, 75 pages about the Bush administration's...more
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Read in August, 2007
Even though Zimbardo's style is a bit self congratulating, the take on the situational dynamics that affect human behavior were fascinating and timely. Has left me thinking almost daily about the nature of good and evil, the reasons we make the choices we do, and has me endlessly meditating on a line from the Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago that I'd long since f...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
psych majors, psych novices, those involved in shaping human systems
The first half of this book is devoted to the Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971. Zimbardo recruits normal young men to be randomly assigned as guards or prisoners in the basement of Jordan Hall (a simulated prison, for the purpose) and intends the experiment to last two weeks. It is cancelled after 6 days because of a nervous breakdown and observed abuses.
The second half of the book is about prison abuses at Abu Ghraib. Zimbardo was an expert witness on behalf of one of the seven low-ra...more
The second half of the book is about prison abuses at Abu Ghraib. Zimbardo was an expert witness on behalf of one of the seven low-ra...more
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Read in February, 2008
On the surface, this looks to be an extremely interesting book. A social psychologist recounts his famous Stanford Prison Experiment (2 groups of college student volunteers are randomly assigned to be guards and inmates for 2 weeks in a mock prison environment--guards become sadistic, prisoners break down emotionally). Then the author visits Abu Ghraib, scene of the infamous tortures of Iraqi detainees. Comparisons are made, insight is given.
But, in the end, this book was overly long, whi...more
But, in the end, this book was overly long, whi...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is a weighty sandwich that I munched through over two months of bus riding. The upper bread is the start of the book, where Zimbardo, not quite friend of my girlfriend, bangs on about the Stanford Prison Experiment for almost a whole half loaf of bread. Its definetly interesting, but theres more detail than needed and it takes a mighty push to get through.
The middles a remarkably tasty yet incredibly thin slice of ham, all about simialr research.
The end bread is about the size of the ot...more
The middles a remarkably tasty yet incredibly thin slice of ham, all about simialr research.
The end bread is about the size of the ot...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Those who anticipate staying in the military or other large organization
First the Pro's: This book was written by the principle investigator of the "Stanford Prison Experiment" in the 1970's. This individual also was an expert witness at the trial of SFC Frederick, one of the MP's convicted for abusing prisoners at Abu Garhaib. It sheds light on how poor leadership and systemic dehumanization can lead normal people to commit acts of incredible cruelty. I think it is an important read for any of us who anticipate staying in the military long enough to b...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone Interested in the Psychological Aspects of Good and Evil
The author, Philip George Zimbardo, is the social psychologist who created of the landmark Stanford Prison Experiment.
He definition of evil is useful for discussions of the subject. "Evil consists in intentionally behaving in ways that harm, abuse, demean, dehumanize, or destroy innocent others- or using one's authority and systemic power to encourage or permit others to do so on your behalf."
This book helps the reader to better understand the abuses and tortures of Abu Ghraib...more
He definition of evil is useful for discussions of the subject. "Evil consists in intentionally behaving in ways that harm, abuse, demean, dehumanize, or destroy innocent others- or using one's authority and systemic power to encourage or permit others to do so on your behalf."
This book helps the reader to better understand the abuses and tortures of Abu Ghraib...more
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Read in July, 2008
My rating averages out to 3 stars, but just barely. Most of this book fits into the 2-star category with just enough of it being 4-star material to bump it up a bit. The primary reason for my struggle with this book is its ridiculous length. It covers a variety of topics and political events that are just too much to fit into a single text. The level of detail for both the Stanford Prison Experiment and Zimbardo’s involvement in the Abu Ghraib is extreme. The two chapters that address conformi...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
jobs that require understanding of the human mind,history geeks, war hawk politicos
i never read the whole thing, i skipped around and just read the theorectical part of things. it brings new insight of what exactly evil is, steering away from the typical predistined good vs evil, black and white, identifying evil as a human elemnet, and that evil doesn't discriminate from any race. it brings in a grey area that is not really identified with a group of people, but applies to everyone. the book goes in depth of the stanfford prison experiment (the part that i didn't read) and th...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Psychologists, Philosophers, Nonconformists
I used to watch Zimbardo on PBS when I was home sick from school. This book is full of information and research about how a normal, "average" person can be turned towards cruelty and an instrument of an dehumanizing system when placed in the right role and with the right kind of social pressure. It is intense and I had to skim parts of it to avoid depression about the human condition. It connects the results Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment with the Abu Ghraib scandal, and expl...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Psychology Geeks
The author is the originator of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, and was called in by the defense team of the soldiers involved in the Abu Graib torture case. The book is full of in-depth details of the SPE and the Abu Graib case, and the lessons learned from these cases, and ends with 10 steps to avoid these problems. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know (apart from specific details of the cases), and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who isn't pretty deep into psychology, a...more
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Read in July, 2007
I would give this book 5 stars for subject matter and 3 stars for execution. While this Stanford Prison Experiment is a fascinating subject, and it's great to get all the details lo these many decades later, the book offers diminishing returns after the first half or so. It picks up a bit when Zimbardo gets into the parallels with Abu Ghraib, but that section dwindles in value after a while as well. Still, the fact that the experiment so clearly shows the impact of environment on behavior and ho...more
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Read in March, 2008
Zimbardo argues that human behavior is highly plastic and that evil behavior comes from situational rather than dispositional factors (outer vs inner determinants). He talks a lot about what happened and why in his fascinating and revealing Stanford Prison Experiment. The rest is about the what and why of US military personnel torturing people at the Abu Ghraib prison and sketches of numerous other experiments supporting his thesis. He argues that the experiments and evaluations of what happened...more
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