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A review by ladyheroj
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo
4.0
I graduated with a degree in Sociology (and I have an interest in psychology, so I spent many elective credits in that field). Hardly a semester went by where I wasn't drawn into a lecture on the Stanford experiment. It was almost to my surprise that I picked this book up earlier this year, convinced as I was that I knew all the details about the study.
And I didn't learn much more about the Stanford prison experiment that I didn't already know. If you've seen the Quiet Rage documentary, you'll find that Zimbardo covers the same details and the same soundbites used in it. But to read his thoughts in retrospect on the experiment, subjects, and himself as the "warden" are worth it.
The truly interesting part of the Lucifer Effect (to me, at least) was the second half, when Zimbardo applies his observations from Stanford to Abu Ghraib. It's eerie to think that the students so quickly got lost in their roles...but that was in a controlled, removed environment. To see it happen in real life, it is chilling. It felt like a very frank look at the structure in Iraq, in the military, and did not feel like Zimbardo let any personal politics cloud his writing even though the war is such a divisive issue.
It can be a slow read at time, and dense. But social psychology is a pretty accessible subject, since it is examining life around us. We're all a part of it, it's just that not all of us really think about why humans, whether as a group or as individuals, act the way we do.
And I didn't learn much more about the Stanford prison experiment that I didn't already know. If you've seen the Quiet Rage documentary, you'll find that Zimbardo covers the same details and the same soundbites used in it. But to read his thoughts in retrospect on the experiment, subjects, and himself as the "warden" are worth it.
The truly interesting part of the Lucifer Effect (to me, at least) was the second half, when Zimbardo applies his observations from Stanford to Abu Ghraib. It's eerie to think that the students so quickly got lost in their roles...but that was in a controlled, removed environment. To see it happen in real life, it is chilling. It felt like a very frank look at the structure in Iraq, in the military, and did not feel like Zimbardo let any personal politics cloud his writing even though the war is such a divisive issue.
It can be a slow read at time, and dense. But social psychology is a pretty accessible subject, since it is examining life around us. We're all a part of it, it's just that not all of us really think about why humans, whether as a group or as individuals, act the way we do.