If only six days can make you a demon! Will you believe it? How to turn a good person into a demon step by step, and then you will learn how to unleash the evil side of human nature, which may be one of the darkest psychological experiments in history!
In 1971, American psychologist Philip Zimbardo built a simulated prison in the basement of the Stanford University Psychology Building. A group of college student volunteers were recruited, divided into prisoners and guards, and conducted experiments to see how human nature would change if ordinary people were in an environment of unequal rights.
Personality changes during the experiment came to be known as the "Lucifer effect".
Lucifer in the Lucifer effect is actually a legendary figure of religion, once the identity of the god angel. Because of the power of angels and the hatred and arrogance of human beings, they gradually went down the path of the devil and became fallen angels.
The experiment was funded by the U.S. Naval Research Office, where the team recruited volunteers for $15 a day, up from $15 a day in 1971. After recruiting 75 college students and undergoing a series of psychological tests, only 24 were selected through the test. The family environment of these selected people is middle class, and the psychology and quality and ability to resist pressure can be said to be good.
The 24 volunteers were then randomly selected to play the role of caretaker and the remaining half to act as prisoners.
However, when assigning roles, there was a small episode in which most volunteers expressed their preference for playing prisoners. You officials please remember this little episode, after watching the video, you think back on this little episode, and then think about the changes in human nature, it is very interesting!
On the first day of the official start of the experiment, everyone was at peace and played their roles normally.
By the next day, the prisoners began to make small movements, beginning to tear off the number of their uniforms, refusing to obey orders, and making fun of the guards. Zimbardo, the head of the experiment, asked the caretakers to control the situation. Guards began corporal punishment of prisoners for push-ups, taking off their clothes, denying them food, taking away their daily necessities, and having them wash toilets with their bare hands. This also directly led to the complete loss of control of the experimental situation in the next two days.
On the third and fourth days, the guards have used their rights to let the prisoners do some despicable work, and the prisoners have basically been suppressed by the right and obediently obeyed. One of the prisoners was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Zimbardo eventually asked him to quit the experiment.
On the fifth day, Zimbardo invited his colleague Christine to the lab for observation. As a bystander, Christine was not involved in the experiment, so she found that Zimbardo had actually become part of the experiment, because he was the supreme power of the experiment, he could command the caretakers, and everyone who could control the laboratory had already made him immersed in this sense of manipulation of power. In addition, Christine also found that the caretaker began to become more cruel and morbid, and the mental state of the prisoner began to collapse, and there was a possibility of traumatic sequelae. She questioned the ethics of the experiment and told Zimbardo that the experiment was out of control!
By the sixth day, Zimbardo may have woken up from Christine's doubts, and the experiment, which had been scheduled for 14 days, was stopped by Zimbardo himself on the sixth day.
So does power really turn people into demons?
So will a good person, a friendly person, really be affected by a particular environment, change his original personality, thoughts and behavior, and release the evil side of human nature?
First of all, it is necessary to declare that the process and results of this experiment are controversial!
In 2018, a reporter asked six questions.
First, in the experiment, the caretaker was instructed to play the "tough" side, which affected the behavior of the caretaker and the conclusion of the experiment!
Second, one of the caretakers deliberately committed atrocious acts in order to achieve the result that Zimbardo wanted!
Third, one of the prisoners broke the news that the mental breakdown was performed.
Fourth, the staff openly pointed out that the experiment was flawed and dishonest.
Fifth, there was a research team in the United Kingdom that copied this experiment and did not come to the conclusion of this Lucifer effect.
Sixth, Zimbardo published the conclusions of the experiment in ordinary journals, not in journals with scientifically rigorous censorship.
To these questions, Zimbardo also responded one by one, proving that his experiment was effective.
But no matter what the final result is, for the experimental results are true or false, all the officials will have their own judgment!
In fact, the Lucifer effect is only possible under certain circumstances to affect personality, thinking, and behavior. Let people step by step to fall to reveal the evil in human nature.
So what if we avoid being affected by the Lucifer effect? Keep the following points in mind!
First, as the old saying goes, bystanders are clear and the authorities are confused. There needs to be an objective perspective that can see things from the outside.
Second, refuse to blindly obey authority and discipline, such as unjust authority and absurd discipline.
Third, remember that if you cross the legal and moral boundaries, you must take responsibility for your evil deeds.
The reason why a person goes down the path of the Lucifer effect is not only because of the gain of power, but also because of many other factors such as the environment.
Finally, I would like to give you a sentence from the Three Character Sutra: At the beginning of man, nature is inherently good.