Which statement best summarizes Zimbardo’s perspective on the average person’s ability for evil?
A. People will continue to do bad things if they know they can blame it on their social surroundings.
B. A person's capacity for good or evil can change based on their social environment.
C. Social experiments are necessary to determine humanity’s capacity for evil.
D. Evil actions are justified if a person is in a challenging social situation.
Answer:
B. A person's capacity for good or evil can change based on their social environment.
Explanation:
According to the Stanford prison experiment done by Philip Zimbardo, some participants were taken to a facility where they had to act as prisoners and guards.
The "prisoners" were humiliated and dehumanized by the "guards", even though the "guards" were reluctant at first, but as they began to maltreat the "prisoners", they became more comfortable with their acts and began to do more and more.
The experiment shows that a person's ability for evil is based on how their social environment is.
