The Social Psychology of Genocide:
What Turns Good Men and Women
Into Murderers
Reasons To Examine This Topic
• All of us will be touched by genocide
• Psychologists have skills and have
developed a knowledge base not available
to politicians, journalists, historians, etc
• Chance to talk about where we are going
as well as where we have been
Joshua at Jericho
Salem Witch Trials
• In 1692, 20 were executed in Massachusetts
Turkish-Armenian Genocide
• 1.5 million of 2.5 million Armenians in Turkey were
exterminated between 1915 and 1923.
• "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians?"
Cambodia: Killing Fields
• Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge kill 1.7
million (21% of population)
Rwanda
• In 1994, within 100 days 800,000 Tutsis and
moderate Hutus are exterminated
Kosovo: Ethnic Cleansing
Holocaust
• Six million Jews (67% of Europe’s population)
were exterminated
• Others: Roma, mentally retarded, mentally
disturbed, 3 million Soviet POWs, homosexuals,
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Communists, Socialists
William Shirer
• Pioneering foreign
correspondent
• Wrote Berlin Diary
• Wrote Rise and Fall of the
Third Reich
William Shirer’s Analysis
• Why did so few Germans resist
working in the concentration camps?
• A summation of western history since
the Magna Carta
• Implies that a German-style
concentration would not flourish in
the US, Britain, France, Italy, etc
Adolph Eichmann
• Supervised trains during
the ‘Final Solution’
• Imprisoned in American
POW camp
• What kind of person
would contribute to the
deaths of millions?
• Captured by Israelis in
1961, tried and executed.
Hannah Arendt and Adolph Eichmann
• Arendt was a prominent social
philosopher employed by the
New York Times to cover the
Eichmann trial
• Summarized her conclusion in
Eichmann in Jerusalem: On the
Banality of Evil
Adolph Eichmann and Arendt’s Hypothesis
• Slightly above average intelligence, no sign of
pathology on psychological tests, good organizer
• Other than during the ‘Final Solution’ there is no
evidence of criminal activity
• Viewed himself as a good soldier who believed that
not one Jew died because he was born
• Arendt’s Hypothesis: In obedience to authority the
average person will commit extreme anti-social
actions such as mass murder.
Questions Involving Genocide
• Will genocide be a consistent state of affairs during
the next several decades?
• Under what conditions should the US intervene to
prevent genocide?
• To what extent should color, culture, religion and
economics matter?
• What social conditions lead otherwise good women
and men to kill their neighbors?
Mai Lai
William Calley
• Led massacre of 300 unarmed
women, children, and elderly
• Sentenced to life at hard labor
• Served 5 months and was pardoned
by Nixon
• Married and living a ‘normal’ life
outside of Ft Benning, GA
Hugh Thompson
• put his guns on Americans, said
he would shoot them if they shot
another Vietnamese, had his
people wade in the ditch in gore
to their knees, to their hips, took
out children, took them to the
hospital...
• Awarded Soldier’s Medal in 1996
• Living a ‘normal’ life
Theories of Obedience to Unjust Authority
• Shirer: Germany lacked a democratic history
• Arendt: Flaw in human character
• Milgram: A social psychologist looks at obedience
Milgram’s Baseline Procedure
Milgram’s Baseline Procedure
• 63% shock to the limit (STL)
Ethical Criticisms of Milgram’s Work
• No true informed consent
• Participants experienced
significant stress
• Long-term negative effects on
self-worth
Milgram’s Response To Ethical Criticism
•
•
•
•
Extensive debriefing
After session discovered learner was not harmed
Participants were free to leave
No evidence of permanent psychological harm
Follow-up of Milgram’s Participants
• 80% reported that they were “Very Glad” or “Glad”
they participated.
• 15% had “No Strong Feelings”
• Just over 1% were “Sorry” or “Very Sorry”
• 80% said more research of this kind should be done.
• 74% said they learned something of lasting value.
A Question Mark: The Cost of Ethics?
?
How To Get Good Men and Women To
Murder Their Neighbors
• Get them to say:
• I hate or
• I would never