INTRODUCTION TO THE LUCIFER EFFECT AND PHILIP ZIMBARDO

The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo, the social psychologist behind the infamous experiment, explores
the effects of the Stanford Prison Experiment on the participants, Zimbardo himself, and the rest of the
world.

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Place and Date of Publication:
New York, 2007
Nonfiction

"Good people can be induced, seduced, and initiated into behaving in evil ways. They can also be led
to act in irrational, stupid, and self-destructive, antisocial, and mindless ways when they are
immersed in 'total situations' that impact human nature in ways that challenge our sense of the
stability and consistency of individual personality, of character, and of morality." (211)
The quote above encompasses Zimbardo's argument throughout the book, and it's supported through his analysis
of two events that exhibit the power of situational pressures.

Philip Zimbardo, PhD

 psychologist and professor
 graduated from Brooklyn College (1954) in psychology, sociology, and anthropology
 received his MS (1955) and PhD (1959) in psychology from Yale University
 known for creating and conducting the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) in the summer of 1971
 author of The Lucifer Effect and other notable works such as The Time Paradox and The Time
Cure

STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

The first half of the book focuses on Zimbardo's own experiment: the SPE. Using a compelling narrative
style, Zimbardo draws in his audience and recounts the happenings of his short-lived, but noteworthy,
experiment.

OVERVIEW OF THE SPE

 originally meant to last for 2 weeks
 "prison" created in the basement of Stanford University's psychology building
 participants volunteered and screened for any emotional, psychological, or physical disabilities
 randomly assigned their role, either prisoner or guard
 guaranteed pay for their participation ($15 per day)
 experiment designed to examine the effects of becoming a prisoner or a guard
 experimenters initially mainly interested in the prisoners
EFFECTS OF THE SPE ON PARTICIPANTS AND ZIMBARDO

Initially, Zimbardo and his colleagues did not believe that the experiment would have severe
effects on the participants. But, after 36 hours the first "prisoner" was released after he suffered a
mental breakdown. Four other prisoners were also released over the remaining four days because of
similar reasons.
The guards quickly fell into their role as guards and began to psychologically abuse the prisoners
by dehumanizing them, distorting their sense of time, and violating their basic human rights (right to use
the bathroom, eat, etc). Subsequently, the prisoners began to forget they were simply a part of an
"experiment" and began to take on the role of a prisoner. The tensions between the guards and
prisoners incited rebellions, which, in turn, progressed the abuse happening within the "prison."
Zimbardo himself admits that he became immersed in role of Superintendent. He began to manipulate
and coerce the participants and their families into letting the abuse continue for the good of the
experiment.

ABU GHRAIB

Zimbardo compared some of the abuse seen in the SPE with the abuse seen decades later at the Abu
Ghraib prison in Iraq. In a real prison setting, Zimbardo noticed that American soldiers used similar
psychological abuse tactics on the Iraqi prisoners like those used by the SPE guards on their student
prisoners.

HISTORY OF ABU GHRAIB

 Abu Ghraib prison, aka Baghdad Central Prison, is located outside of Baghdad, Iraq
 During Saddam Hussein's reign, his regime used the prison to hold Iraqi and political prisoners.
His regime frequently performed mass murders at the prison.
 The US seized the prison in 2003. The Abu Ghriab scandal of 2004 led to questioning of the Iraqi
detainees under US command.
 The prison was officially closed in 2014. ("Baghdad")

ABU GHRAIB SCANDAL

In 2004, reports surfaced of US soldiers, and members of the CIA, at the Abu Ghraib prison abusing
prisoners in their custody. Later, photographic evidence showed some of the abuse.

COMPARISON TO SPE
In viewing the pictures of the abuse and hearing the testimony of the abusers, Zimbardo notices the
similarities between his SPE and Abu Ghraib. The US soldiers and CIA agents aimed to dehumanize and
demean their prisoners in order to gain information. Some of the abusers later said they found some
enjoyment from torturing the prisoners. Comparably, some of the SPE guards state that they enjoyed
hurting the prisoners because it reinstated the power and control they held over them.

ZIMBARDO'S CONCLUSIONS

Zimbardo's final conclusion can be summarized in the quote:

"The line between Good and Evil, once thought to be impermeable, proved instead to be quite
permeable." (195)
He states that it is not only the individual's fault, but the fault of the System, or the authorities. The
Situations, or environment, brought about by the System greatly affects the actions of the individuals,
and it's capable of making good people turn do evil things. As evidenced by Zimbardo's own immersion
into the role of Superintendent, he (the System) allowed the environment (the Situation) of the Stanford
prison to facilitate, and maybe even encourage, abuse. However, Zimbardo concludes his book stating
that people can also redeem themselves and become heroes.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTENT
The following terms are the most important psychology ideas that arose in the book.

1. Deindividuation
Deindividuation is the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster
arousal and anonymity. In the SPE, the guards' deindividuation allowed them to rally behind one
another and abuses the prisoners. Their guard uniforms, mirrored sunglasses, and batons served to hide
their identity and added to their anonymity, thus allowing them to more easily go against the prisoners.

2. Fundamental Attribution Error

Fundamental attribution error is the tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to
underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.
Both Zimbardo and his colleagues, and those who tried the soldiers and CIA agents for Abu Ghriab,
showed FAE because they judged individuals for their actions/reactions instead of also considering their
situation. For example, Zimbardo believed the prisoners in his experiment may have had psychological
disabilities because many were released early. He did not take into consideration the abuse they
suffered at the hands of the guards.

3. Roles and Conformity

A role is a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought
to behave.
Conformity is adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.
The guards and the prisoners of the SPE fell into their assigned roles. Some guards quickly became
power hungry and controlling, while the prisoners became submissive. The guards showed the most
conformity. Some of the guards began to abuse the prisoners in order to be seen, and accepted, by the
more powerful guards.

4. Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance theory is the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel
when two of our thoughts (cognition) are inconsistent.
Cognitive dissonance can be seen mostly with the actions of the guards in the SPE. Although they were
aware that the prisoners were simply fellow students, many began to see them as real, dangerous
criminals. Despite these contradictory thought, to alleviate the dissonance they felt some began to
abuse the prisoners.

EFFECTIVENESS OF RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

The first half of the book, which recounts the SPE, is mainly told in narrative style with points of
reflection by Zimbardo. This style of writing is effective in drawing the reader in and engaging them in
the story. It allows people to form a connection with difficult subject matter. Also, his reflections added
to the narrative style writing because they gave a st-hand account of how he feels he went wrong during
the experiment.

The second half of the book, focusing on Abu Ghraib, is told in a court trial format. Zimbardo puts those
he sees failed to stop the torture/abuse "on trial," and explains why he thinks they are responsible for
the happenings at the prison. Like the narrative style writing in the beginning, this "trial" enables the
readers to have a better understanding of a difficult situation.
Zimbardo still allows, and expects, his audience to form their own opinions on the subject matter.

Sources:

"Baghdad Central Prison." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d.

Web. 9 Jan. 2015.; Myers, David G. Myers' Psychology for AP*. 2nd ed. New York:
Worth Pub, 2014. Print.
"Philip Zimbardo." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 9
Jan. 2015.
Stanford Prison Experiment Video: The Stanford Prison
Experiment .Perf. Philip Zimbardo. 2013. YouTube. Web. 9 Jan. 2015.
Zimbardo, Philip G. The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good
People Turn Evil. New York: Random House, 2007. Print.