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Psychology of Evil Test #1
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Note's for psychology of evil has an emphasis on the biological pathways of becoming/being evil
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Evil Defined- Evil: an exertion of power over another to intentionally harm
(psychological) hurt (physical) or destroy (mortally)
- Evil is not always the product of an intention; it is also the product of a
failure of intent: it’s the lack of an attempt to restrain oneself from
inflicting what one knows will be great harm
- Lack of empathy is commonly noted in those who commit evil acts
o Inability to experience the same emotion that someone else is
experiencing
- Good and Evil
o Psychologists seek to understand human behaviour – What
makes someone good? What makes someone bad?
Nature vs. Nurture
- Social environment is the main reason why individuals commit evil
acts, and other is based on the belief that evil is primarily influenced
by biological traits (bad apples).
- A combination of both biological and social factors combined mold
people into who they are and help determine the path that one
choses to follow
- Nature vs. Nurture
- Bad apple (biological influence)
- Bad barrel (social/environmental influence)
- Bad barrel maker (institutional/cultural)
Bad Apples
- Internal Influences – Dispositional
- Behaviour as the result of an interplay between personality,
intelligence, and biology
- “Bad apples” – a dispositional account that simply blames the
individual for wrongdoing
- Inherited traits/genetics ‘the born criminal’
Bad Barrels
- External Influences – situational
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, - Behaviour as influenced by an interplay of situation, environmental
and social factors
- For example – Early childhood trauma
Bad Barrel Makers
- Systemic influences
- The view that behaviour is influenced by a system of laws, rules,
government, religion, and institutions
Understanding How Good People Turn Evil
“We imagine a line between good and evil, and we like to believe that it’s
impermeable. We are good on this side. The bad guys, the bad women,
they are on that side, and the bad people never will become good, and the
good never will become bad. I’ll say today that’s nonsense. Because that
line is … permeable. Because sometimes, just like human cells, material
flows in and out. And if it does, then it could allow some ordinary people
like you to become perpetrators of evil.”
Fluidity
- Good and Evil – fluidity
“The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can
be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces” (Zimbardo,
1971).
- Evil people or victims of circumstance?
Biological Pathways to Evil
- Bad Apples – Nature over Nurture
- Biological systems and theories
o Brain and Behaviour
o Biochemistry and Hormones
o Genetics (XXY)
Brain Anatomy and Abnormal Behaviour
- Abnormal Behaviour
o Deviance
o Distress (degree to which the issue distresses the individual)
o Danger (danger to self and to others)
o Dysfunction (interference in individuals’ life –
social/financial/vocational)
- Deviance
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