...“We fear evil, but are fascinated by it. We create myths of evil conspiracies and come to believe them enough to mobilize forces against them. We reject the ‘Other’ as different and dangerous because it’s unknown, yet we are thrilled by contemplating sexual excess and violations of moral codes by those who are not our kind.”(4) This provocative quote is one of the many excerpts from The Lucifer Effect that require the reader to delve deep into the true workings of their own mind. The Lucifer Effect by Professor Philip Zimbardo is a non-fiction piece that discusses several broad psychological topics and concepts such as good and evil, character transformation, conformity, and the potential for a person to act righteously or not. During the first...
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...Module: Risk Management and Assurance ACCT 627 Introduction The Lucifer effect describes Philip Zimbardo’s experiment in 1971 in which college students under took the roles of guards and prisoners in a study that was originally intended to examine how prisoners would adapt to prison life. However, the study took on a different focus as the behaviour of the guards (and authoritative figures) become a key point of interest. Before the study commenced, participants were dutifully screened for abnormal psychological traits and were randomly assigned the roles of prisoners and guards. The experiment was to be conducted over two weeks with Zimbardo himself dual hatting as a prison supervisor and that of a researcher. Steps were taken conceal the identities of the guards, to create a sense of anonymity and deindividuation. The students were not given any form of training on how to perform as normal prison guard and rules were poorly defined. As part of the study process, the counts sessions were simply intended as a role call and to ensure that the prisoners were made aware of their identification numbers and the rules. However, the count sessions very quickly became abusive from the first day. The sessions went beyond the intended duration, during which prisoners were humiliated, physically abused, psychologically weakened and punished without reason. At one point, the abuse even turned sexual in nature. As a result of the rapid escalation of abuse, the study was terminated...
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...The actions of man throughout history are often defined by two different codes of conduct: good and evil. The tendencies of human beings can be observed and analyzed through the work of several psychologists. Renowned psychologist, Philip Zimbardo’s research shows that good people will continue to commit evil acts when they are put under certain conditions, eventually generating the loss of their identity. These conditions test the moral strength and personal conscience of intrinsically good people. His research provides a lens for the explanation of the meaning and causes of these recurring evil phenomenon. Thomas Paine’s famous quote, “[these] are the times that try men’s souls,” strongly relates to the conflicts between right and wrong that...
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...Chapter Overview 16.1 Social Thought and Behavior Groups Core Social Motives CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.1 Describing 16.3 Attribution: The Person or the Situation? Fundamental Attribution Error Actor-Observer Bias Defensive Attribution Self-Serving Bias Social Roles 16.2 Person Perception Social Categorization Physical Appearance Stereotypes Subjectivity Culture and Person Perception CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.3 Explaining Attributional Biases 16.4 Attitudes and Social Judgments Components of Attitudes Relieving Cognitive Dissonance Influencing Attitudes: Persuasion The Foot-in-the-Door Technique Role Playing Affects Attitudes CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.2 Person Perception and Musical Tastes Culture and Attitudes CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.4 Explaining Persuasion 16 Learning Objectives Social Psychology 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Define social psychology. Compare and contrast social cognition, social influence, and social norms. Describe the core social motives. Illustrate social categorization. Discuss how stereotypes and subjectivity impact personal perception. Explain the various types of attribution. Describe the components of attitudes. Illustrate the different ways to influence attitudes. Differentiate between conformity, obedience, and compliance. Describe the biological, psychological, and sociocultural aspects of prejudice, aggression, and attraction. Discuss the pros and cons of group influence on an individual...
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...animal Books by Elliot Aronson Theories of Cognitive Consistency (with R. Abelson et al.), 1968 Voices of Modern Psychology, 1969 The Social Animal, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2004; (with J. Aronson), 2008 Readings About the Social Animal, 1973, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2004; (with J. Aronson), 2008 Social Psychology (with R. Helmreich), 1973 Research Methods in Social Psychology (with J. M. Carlsmith & P. Ellsworth), 1976 The Jigsaw Classroom (with C. Stephan et al.), 1978 Burnout: From Tedium to Personal Growth (with A. Pines & D. Kafry), 1981 Energy Use: The Human Dimension (with P. C. Stern), 1984 The Handbook of Social Psychology (with G. Lindzey), 3rd ed., 1985 Career Burnout (with A. Pines), 1988 Methods of Research in Social Psychology (with P. Ellsworth, J. M. Carlsmith, & M. H. Gonzales), 1990 Age of Propaganda (with A. R. Pratkanis), 1992, 2000 Social Psychology, Vols. 1–3 (with A. R. Pratkanis), 1992 Social Psychology: The Heart and the Mind (with T. D. Wilson & R. M. Akert), 1994 Cooperation in the Classroom: The Jigsaw Method (with S. Patnoe), 1997 Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion After Columbine, 2000 Social Psychology: An Introduction (with T. D. Wilson & R. M. Akert), 2002, 2005, 2007 The Adventures of Ruthie and a Little Boy Named Grandpa (with R. Aronson), 2006 Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) (with C. Tavris), 2007 Books by Joshua Aronson Improving Academic Achievement, 2002 The Social Animal To...
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