The Lucifer Effect is a new book authored by Philip G. Zimbardo that summarizes more than 30 years of research on factors that can create a “perfect storm” which leads good people to engage in evil actions. Zimbardo is an American psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is known for his Stanford prison experiment and his authorship of introductory psychology textbooks for college students.

In the The Lucifer Effect, the very lively 75 years old psychologist explains how Good People Turn Evil by providing, among other things a detailed chronology of the transformations in character that took place during the famous Stanford prison experiment.

« The Lucifer Effect raises a fundamental question about the nature of human nature: How is it possible for ordinary, average, even good people to become perpetrators of evil? In trying to understand unusual, weird or aberrant behavior, we often err in focusing exclusively on the inner determinants of genes, personality and character, as we also tend to ignore what may be the critical catalyst for behavior change in the external Situation or in the System that creates and maintains such situations. »

7 Social Processes That Grease the Slippery Slope of Evil. (according to Zimbardo)

1. Mindlessly Taking the First Small Step.
2. Dehumanizing of Others.
3. De- individuation of Personal Responsibility.
4. Blind Obedience to Authority.
5. Uncritical Conformity to Group Norms.
6. Passive Tolerance of Evil Through Inaction, or Indifference.

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