The TED 2008 conference invited Psychologist Philip Zimbardo to speak about his new book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. His book explains that a “perfect storm” of conditions can make ordinary people commit unspeakable acts. WIRED magazine published an interview with Zimbardo along with photographs from Abu Ghraib that he uses to illustrate his points (please be warned the photographs are extremely disturbing.)
Wired: You were an expert defense witness in the court-martial of Sgt. Chip Frederick, an Abu Ghraib guard. What were the situational influences in his case?
