Monday, May 16, 2016
The Lucifer Effect: The Palo Alto "Holocaust"
In my opinion, the Palo Alto "Holocaust" was one of the most frightening experiments described in The Lucifer Effect. It happened so close to us, and with students generally regarded as smart and intelligent. The students adopted the Nazi-esque rules so quickly that it is scary to think what someone with a little authority could do when people so easily bend to their will. In the experiment, strict classroom rules were enforced to "level the playing field" for all students. Intelligent and well-worded students no longer had the upper hand in class discussion, and were overtaken by physical and less verbal students. An "in-group" was formed, and the brightest students were ridiculed and outcasted. What was most surprising to me was how quickly students conformed to the new standards, and how quick they were to turn on their classmates. The students seemed to have completely forgotten their personal beliefs and morals and instead put their complete faith/trust in an authoritative figure's hands. Do you think it would be possible for something similar to happen at Los Altos High?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It is really hard to say whether or not something like that would happen here at LAHS, but I wouldn't say it is impossible. I would hope that most people would not be willing to disown their own morals. But when it comes down to it, the students at Palo Alto High may not have thought that they were letting go of their morals. They could have actually been persuaded to believe that it was the right thing to do; or they could have just really have been okay because they thought they deserved the position they were given.
ReplyDeleteI think under the right conditions, something similar to that could easily happen here at Los Altos. As Zimbardo pointed out in the book, many people will do almost anything in order to be part of an "in" group; they want to be superior. That school in Palo Alto was likely similar to Los Altos in many ways, which could make it possible to happen here. On the other hand, this experiment took place in the late 1960s. From what I have heard, the topic of the Holocaust and the Nazi regime was generally avoided at school, probably because it was too recent and fresh in people's minds. These students' ignorance about this event could have made them more likely to participate in the scenario. In that case, given that we are taught about the Holocaust, the Third Reich, and its long term repercussions, we may be less likely to join such a movement.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely possible that a similar situation could happen anywhere, even at our own school. I think it would show up differently, because as Emily said we are in a completely different time period. I think if something were to happen in our school or in our community in general, it could likely be centered on technology, like cell phones and computers. People could be a lot more susceptible to influence when this is involved, because it is so central in our society.
ReplyDeleteI think your question is really hard to answer because, like Stanley Milgram concluded after seeing the results of his experiment on obedience to authority, "Unless you are put at that situation you don't know what you would do".
ReplyDeleteThe question I have is how educated are these students about the Holocaust compared to us? Were they educated about this act differently than us? This situation also shows the influence of others. If one person goes through with an act, another person is most likely to be willing to do the same.
ReplyDelete