Page 4 - Gaceta Idiomas abr 21

Field of study perspectives Field of study perspectives
The Lucifer effect, what makes a
good person do evil deeds?
Ricardo Ordóñez Sandoval
English 8C
Teacher: Edgar Martínez Ramírez
Abstract
This article describes the vulnerability we have towards evil. All this, based on different
experiments, investigations and events in history.
The Lucifer effect is a term that the psychologist Philip Zimbardo gave to this process of
changing the person. The most famous experiment from which much data was obtained was
that of the Stanford prison in the seventies. For many, this study is very shocking, because it
talks about the nature of evil in people.
Anyone is prone to commit acts of evil in their entire life.
This transformation from good to evil is known as the Lucifer effect. When this process of
person change occurs, what happens is the powerful influence of a factor in that situation that
tends to dehumanize us. The social environment is the one that corrupts the individual and
not in a different sense, as many of us think. Evil is like a seed that we all carry inside, but
we are the ones who decide whether or not that seed germinates. Throughout life, a person
will always commit an act of evil, regardless of whether it was unintentional. Anonymity has
a great influence on acts of evil, because as Zimbardo (2007) said, “Any situation that makes
you anonymous and allows aggression, brings to light, in most people, the worst beast they
have inside “.
Examples of the Lucifer effect
We can find the Lucifer effect in history, on television, in movies, etc. Some examples might
be: The Salem Trials, with the witch hunt. This was delimited in time and concrete in a place
where they lived in religious fanaticism, mass hysteria, etc. (Zimbardo, 2007).
Another example of the lucifer effect occurs in the breaking bad series, where Walter White
begins with violent acts from a perception that is correct for him, for what he is doing, no
matter how ruthless it may be. He feels justified by his personal situation and his surroundings.
Stanford Prison Experiment
In 1971, a study was conducted that brought together young college students for an
investigation called the Stanford Prison Experiment. All the youth participated voluntarily.
Before starting the experiment, they did a psychological evaluation and they were all normal
young people. They were divided up and given random roles of guards and prisoners. They
were all taken to a prison that had been set up at Stanford. The study was supposed to last two
weeks but had to be canceled after 6 days as it became very real for all the participants. All
the participants were affected; the guards became abusive and burned. The prisoners became
submissive. The whole transformation process took place very quickly, in six days.
This experiment shows that people are very prone to turn bad with the right influence. People
can put their morals aside and become part of the ferocity and abuse. Zimbardo (2007)
4 5
emphasizes that the evil that exists in all societies is everyone’s responsibility.
The Lucifer effect within society and groups
There is a theory called: the broken windows theory. This theory was proposed by Zimbardo,
in 1969. In this social experiment, he abandoned a car on the neglected streets of New
York’s Bronx, with the license plates ripped off and the doors open. His goal was to see what
happened. A few minutes passed and they began to steal parts of the car and after three days,
there was nothing left that could have value and at the end of that, they dismantled everything
(Wagers, Sousa & Keling, 2008).
The experiment would not end there, then he abandoned another completely identical car in
a wealthy area in Palo Alto, California. In this case, the days passed and nothing happened,
so it continued for a week, until Zimbardo decided to hit the car with a hammer on several
occasions. After that everything changed, because in a few minutes the vehicle was destroyed
as in the first part of the experiment (Wagers, et al, 2008).
Wagers, et al (2008) mentions that to explain this, it could be said that once the norms that
maintain order in a society or group begin to be disobeyed, both order and society itself
begin to deteriorate, often with surprising speed. Uncivilized behaviors are often contagious.
That is why it is important to identify these behaviors, so that the values that one has can be
implemented and be able to eradicate this effect. It is also important to understand that we
must maintain a clean and stable society, as well as the groups in which we develop, because
if it begins to corrupt, we could end up corrupted as well.
Conclusion
We can all be ruthless but in the same way we can be kind, it all depends on being true to
our values and our ethics. Many times the environment leads us to do things that are not
right for us, but we have to identify it and have the courage not to get carried away. By
being ourselves, we can avoid falling into evil. Sometimes the process of dehumanization is
inevitable. Situational factors, the social dynamics of a specific context and psychological
pressure can make evil germinate in us. A seed that, whether we like it or not, we always carry
within us. However, this perverse side can be counteracted with the strength of determination
and that integrity capable of setting limits and encouraging us to get out of certain oppressive
contexts so as not to forget who we are, and put each of our actions through the sieve of our
values.
References
Philip Zimbardo. (2007). El efecto Lucifer. Estados Unidos: PAIDÓS. Wagers, M.;
Sousa, W. & Kelling, G. (2008) Broken windows. Environmental Criminology
and Crime Analysis. Reino Unido. William Publishing.