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It's not about a few bad apples.
Nov. 30th, 2004 03:33 pmThis NewScientist article isn't exactly *news* - most of what it reports was observed by Milgram forty years ago - but apparently it needs repeating:
"Could any average 18-year-old have tortured these prisoners? I would have to answer: 'Yes, just about anyone could have,'" Fiske says.
Many forms of behaviour, including acts of cruelty, are influenced as much by authority figures, peer pressure and other social interactions as by the psychology of the individual, she says.
"If we don't understand the importance of social context and accept that almost anybody could commit acts of torture under certain circumstances, then we are setting ourselves up for situations where Abu Ghraib [atrocities] will occur again," Fiske warns.
In other words: when your army is caught torturing prisoners, it doesn't just mean you have a few rogue privates and noncoms who need to be jailed. It means you have a *culture* conducive to that sort of abuse, and unless you do something about that culture you can expect more of the same.
In lighter news, I've just discovered something very cool about Choctaw. Something like this idea had actually been floating around my head as an interesting racial trait in a fictional setting; I'm chuffed to discover that it's already been done.
"Could any average 18-year-old have tortured these prisoners? I would have to answer: 'Yes, just about anyone could have,'" Fiske says.
Many forms of behaviour, including acts of cruelty, are influenced as much by authority figures, peer pressure and other social interactions as by the psychology of the individual, she says.
"If we don't understand the importance of social context and accept that almost anybody could commit acts of torture under certain circumstances, then we are setting ourselves up for situations where Abu Ghraib [atrocities] will occur again," Fiske warns.
In other words: when your army is caught torturing prisoners, it doesn't just mean you have a few rogue privates and noncoms who need to be jailed. It means you have a *culture* conducive to that sort of abuse, and unless you do something about that culture you can expect more of the same.
In lighter news, I've just discovered something very cool about Choctaw. Something like this idea had actually been floating around my head as an interesting racial trait in a fictional setting; I'm chuffed to discover that it's already been done.
