The Lucifer Effect

Examines how ordinary people can commit harmful or cruel acts when placed in certain situations. Referencing the Stanford Prison Experiment, as well as historical examples such as the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, Zimbardo argues that behavior is often influenced less by individual character than by the environments, roles, and systems people inhabit.

The book challenges readers to look beyond the question of "Who is a bad person?" and instead ask, "What conditions made this behavior possible?" Full title: The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil.

Philip Zimbardo (1933–2024) was a professor of psychology at Stanford, best known for the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment.