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Even the best people do bad things in a bad system. Sometimes, we think the ends justify the means. Sometimes, we justify the bad things by comparing our actions to people who have done worse things. In some situations, tho, it's the system.
It's been proven time and again.
It's been proven time and again.
In a very famous experiment by a teacher named Jane Elliot. She divided her classroom into "blue-eyed people" and "brown-eyed people."
She told them how blue-eyed people were better than brown-eyed people. She had the blue eyes put cardboard cuffs on the brown eyes.
She told them how blue-eyed people were better than brown-eyed people. She had the blue eyes put cardboard cuffs on the brown eyes.
She explained brown-eyed children were less intelligent and less clean. She gave the blue eyes more privileges and powers. The blue eyes were given lunch first.
Soon, the blue eyes became more aggressive and mean toward the people with brown eyes. It took less than 15 minutes.
Soon, the blue eyes became more aggressive and mean toward the people with brown eyes. It took less than 15 minutes.
The next day, she flipped the script. She explained how brown-eyed children were actually better than people with blue eyes. The cardboard collars were put on the blue-eyed children. Sure enough, the brown-eyed children started discriminating against the blue eyes.
With the roles reversed, the brown-eyed children even began to complete mental tasks faster and more accurately.
Lesson: discrimination happens quickly and has almost instant effects. Even if it doesn't make sense
You can see the 1968 experiment here:
Lesson: discrimination happens quickly and has almost instant effects. Even if it doesn't make sense
You can see the 1968 experiment here:
Zimbardo demonstrated the effects of a bad situation on behaviour in his famous 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment.
In this experiment, Zimbardo created a mock prison and had students play the role of prisoner or guard.
Guards were given uniforms complete with mirrored glasses.
In this experiment, Zimbardo created a mock prison and had students play the role of prisoner or guard.
Guards were given uniforms complete with mirrored glasses.
"Prisoners" were arrested, booked, assigned a number, and dressed in a hospital-gown type garment. They were required to give their number over and over.
The guards felt bad at first, but it didn't last long. Soon, prisoners were required to do all kinds of dehumanizing things.
The guards felt bad at first, but it didn't last long. Soon, prisoners were required to do all kinds of dehumanizing things.
The prisoners started protesting and attempting to revolt. Soon, the guards began to see the prisoners as a threat and treated them as such. They used fire extinguishers on the prisoners, used solitary confinement, verbal abuse, etc.
The punishments and torture escalated.
The punishments and torture escalated.
On the 3rd day, prisoners began to have breakdowns. The torture turned sexual.
There were many mistakes made in this experiment. It was unethical. Full stop. But the results are the same.
Good people do horrific things in the right circumstances
There were many mistakes made in this experiment. It was unethical. Full stop. But the results are the same.
Good people do horrific things in the right circumstances
The Stanford experiment was based on Milgrim's experiments. In his experiments, Milgrim set up a participant telling them that they were in a learning experiment. Punishment for the wrong answer.
The participant was made the teacher. The experimenter the student
The participant was made the teacher. The experimenter the student
They were sat in front of a machine with a set of switches. Each of these switches supposedly increased the intensity of the shock administered to the student.
Now, the teacher (participant) was told to read a question. If the student gave the wrong answer, the participant was
Now, the teacher (participant) was told to read a question. If the student gave the wrong answer, the participant was
to tell him the level of voltage and then flip the switch to zap him.
The student would scream in pain more and more as the voltage increased.
The teacher was bothered by it, but he continued to increase the voltage regardless. Even when the student stopped screaming.
The student would scream in pain more and more as the voltage increased.
The teacher was bothered by it, but he continued to increase the voltage regardless. Even when the student stopped screaming.
The teacher would protest, but he continued to administer the punishment.
You can see it here:
You can see it here:
TL;DR: Anyone, no matter how good they are, will do horrible things if the system is designed that way. And we have a lot of systems that are inherently built to discriminate and harm (directly or indirectly).
