According to the presentation The Psychology of Evil by Dr. Zimbardo, everyone can be a monster or a hero. Zimbardo examines the concept of good and evil using the Lucifer effect, and consequently, he argues that with a little power, everyone can be cruel (Zimbardo, 2008). A sociological approach would investigate why people perform evil acts in society and argue that external and situational factors influence peoples’ behaviors. Taking the case of prisoners’ oppression by the soldiers in Abu Ghraib, a sociologist would argue using Karl Marx’s conflict theory that holds that there must be domination and power for a society to maintain order instead of consensus conformity (Dillon, 2020). Consequently, the soldiers oppressed the prisoners at Abu Ghraib to assert their control over them and not out of boredom, similar to Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment, during which the guards were cruel to subdue the inmates and maintain control.
The video left me questioning whether the soldiers acted independently or due to their interest in affirming power. I think about situations where people act spitefully as a group, for instance, bullying in schools, to keep a certain social stratification. Even though some individuals might not be comfortable with group bullying, they will still allow others to be tormented for fear of not belonging. However, some gather the courage to stand up against the oppressors, and those are the heroes. Consequently, I think the decision to do good or evil is personal, and those that choose malice often want to assert control and power over whom they consider subjects. Therefore, one has the inherent quality to become good or evil. External factors such as power and fear are what trigger an action.
References
Dillon, M. (2020). Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theories, Concepts and Their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Zimbardo, P. (2008). The Psychology of Evil. Web.