Matthew KrugmanMrs. GigerEEMay 10, 2014What psychological influences contribute to an intrinsically good person becoming bad?IntroductionThis research paper explains how an intrinsically "good" person can, under the right circumstances, become "bad" and the psychological effects behind this change. Understand how a person can cross the proverbial line from good to evil; evil itself must receive a definition. The word evil is a general term to describe everything from biblical aspects to natural disasters, and even to describe the human condition. In this article we will focus only on the human aspect of evil. The Oxford Dictionary describes evil as “profoundly immoral and malicious.” To understand this better, philosopher Peter Dews, author of “The Idea of ​​Evil,” writes: “The fundamental notions of offense and punishment, of transgression and forgiveness seem to lose their grip in the face of deep and far-reaching desecrations. of the human. For these kinds of crimes, “evil” is still the only word we have. » (12) In this research paper, the ethics of these experiments will not be discussed. Each of these current experiments is considered unethical, but they achieved their goal by identifying which psychological aspects contribute to evil in a given individual. Milgram's Obedience Experiment To get a comprehensive overview of how a person can go from good to evil, several case studies on this topic will be discussed. The first of these would be the 1963 Milgram obedience experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University. This experiment is based on the theory of obedience through authority. Milgram created this experiment to examine the justification of defendants during World War II. Obedience middle of paper ......to carry out orders. When other nurses were asked to discuss what they would do in a similar situation (i.e., a control group), 21 of 22 responded that they would not comply with the order. Hofling concludes that people are very reluctant to question so-called "authority", even when they have good reason to do so, and that they are willing to blindly follow authority, even against their better judgment and rules in place (Mcleod 2008). Yale Prison Experiment Yale psychologist Philip Zimbardo decided in 1971 to take these experiments one step further, to place a normal person in a position of power to see how they would treat another human. In 1973, Zimbardo created the Yale Prison Experiment that today will be referenced in major prison cases in the United States. To study roles in prison life, Zimbardo transformed the Stanford basement into a prison.