Evil acts, we like to think, are the preserve of psychopaths.
Yet 30 to 40 years ago, a series of classic psychology
experiments showed that the behaviour of ordinary people can be
transformed in groups and that the most decent of individuals
can be led to behave in the most indecent ways. These studies
raise critical questions about the processes through which
groups can transform us, and whether such transformations are
always for the worse. Yet for decades it has been impossible to
conduct studies with the same power as the classic studies and
to interrogate their conclusions. The BBC Prison Study has
broken this impasse and provides a surprising new set of answers
with important social, clinical and organisational
ramifications. Evil acts, we like to think, are the preserve of
psychopaths. Yet 30 to 40 years ago, a series of classic
psychology experiments showed that the behaviour of ordinary
people can be transformed in groups and that the most decent of
individuals can be led to behave in the most indec