The Social Psychology of Good and EvilArthur G. Miller This compelling work brings together an array of distinguished scholars to explore key concepts, theories, and findings pertaining to some of the most fundamental issues in social life: the conditions under which people are kind and helpful to others or, conversely, under which they commit harmful, even murderous, acts. Covered are such topics as the complex interaction of individual, societal, and situational factors underpinning good or evil behavior; the role of guilt and the self-concept; and issues of responsibility and motivation, including why good people do bad things. The volume also examines whether aggression and violence are inescapable aspects of human nature, and how cooperative interaction can break down stereotyping and discrimination. |
Contents
Introduction and Overview | 1 |
CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVES ON GOOD AND EVIL | 8 |
Basic Human Needs Altruism and Aggression | 51 |
Four Roots of Evil | 85 |
The Evolution of Evil | 102 |
CONTEXTS CAUSES AND IMPLICATIONS | 125 |
When Good People Do Bad Things | 141 |
Violent Evil and the General Aggression Model | 168 |
What Can the Milgram Obedience Experiments Tell Us | 193 |
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abuse actions acts adolescents adults aggression American Psychological Association anger antisocial attitudes aversive racism basic needs Batson Baumeister benefits bias biases child child sexual abuse cognitive conflict costs Crocker deindividuation Developmental Psychology dispositional Dovidio effects Eisenberg emotional empathy empathy-induced altruism empathy-related responding evil evolutionary psychology example Fabes factors feelings fulfill Gaertner genocide Gramzow harm helping Holocaust hostility human individuals influence ingroup interactions intergroup involved jigsaw jigsaw classroom Journal of Personality killing lies M-H thesis Milgram Milgram experiments Miller moral Muehlenhard Nazi negative outgroup participants peers perceived perpetrators personal distress Personality and Social perspective positive prejudice processes prosocial behavior psychopaths racial rape relationships reported response role self-esteem self-report self-worth sexual violence shame and guilt situation Social Psychology Stanford Prison Experiment Staub stereotypes strategies suggest sympathy Tangney theory threat tion University Press victims volunteerism volunteers women York