Question

Common Lit (What makes good people do bad things) PART A: Which of the following best describe a central idea of the passage? A Harmful actions or behaviors can be excused by certain social situations, justifying the idea that people are inherently good. B Social conditions, rather than innate morality (good and evil), can be the dominant influential force in our actions. C People will always do bad things if they know they will get away with it. D Social experiments are the only way to test humanity’s capacity for evil.

Answer 1

Answer:

The line that best describes the central idea of the passage is - Social conditions, rather than innate morality (good and evil), can be the dominant influential force in our actions.

Thus, the correct answer to the question is Option B.

Explanation:

What can make good people do bad things? The excerpt from Melissa Dittmann’s article printed in October 2004 proves this particular statement. It talks about Philip G. Zimbardo, Former APA President’s research that explains how the right dosage of some social situations can transform good, ordinary people into evildoers.

Also, a psychology professor at Stanford University, he presented examples of various experiments by eminent people which proved the point that a change in social situations can force a person to turn from good to bad .