Circumstances Determine Human Behavior More Than Character or Personality
This is a very controversial issue in the world of psychology, and I’m going to tell you that right up front. There are psychologists who believe it is personality that determines a person’s behavior more than anything else, and there are psychologists who believe it is circumstances that influence behavior more than anything else – more than character and/or personality.
If a choice must be made, circumstances get my vote, and here is why. The Stanley Milgram Experiment (among others) showed that what are considered normal, ordinary, stable, dependable, decent people, who were not known to be violent or radical in their behaviors, could and did under certain conditions do unspeakable things.
Situation Psychology
The Stanley Milgram Experiment Tests Obedience To Authority
The Milgram Experiment was created and carried out in order to determine if German people were more inclined to be obedient to authority than most people in the world. During the World War II Nuremburg War Crimes Trials many of the accused gave the reason for their unthinkable behavior as obedience to authority. They said they were just following orders. Stanley Milgram, a Yale University psychologist and professor, set out to determine just how much influence authority really played in the behavior of people in general.
Milgram’s Experiment initially resulted in 65% of participants from all walks of life, complying with the orders of authority figures. The experiment was repeated hundreds of times after that with a result of 62-67% of research subjects complying with the orders of authority figures.
The authority figures requested that the research subjects do a terrible thing – administer electric shocks to people they did not know and who had never harmed them in any way. On average, 65% of the research subjects from all walks of life complied, mostly without protest or question.
To get a good background in what this Experiment was about and how it was conducted, if you are not already informed about it, click here. It will just take you a few minutes to read a summary of that experiment, and then you will better understand what I am talking about.
The Milgram Experiment Tested People From All Walks Of Life
It is because the research participants who administered the shocks were from all walks of life, with many different characters and personalities, that I side with the psychologists who believe circumstances more than character or personality influence a person’s behavior. The Milgram Experiment is only one of many different experiments that have been conducted and that have achieved the same results every time on this subject of how authority affects human behavior.
Milgram did repeat his experiment several times making small changes to the way he conducted the experiment. For example, he changed the location of the authority figure and that did make a difference to many of the participants administering the shocks.
However, it was the location of the authority figure that changed, not the participant’s personality or character that changed. By changing the circumstances of the situation and keeping the participants the same, Milgram proved that circumstances rather than personal traits make the difference in a person’s behavior. What Milgram proved was that changing the circumstances changed the outcome. In other words, the circumstances determined the change, personality and/or character of the participant did not.
Example
Here is an example that may help you to better understand what I am trying to say.
John usually goes straight home from work. One night he decides to stop in to a neighborhood bar where several of his coworkers like to relax after work. There is a very attractive woman he has never seen before in the bar on the night he stops in. The woman flirts with John and after a few drinks, he flirts back. Eventually John and the woman have a conversation and she lets him know she is attracted to him. John is married, but he finds this woman very tempting. He doesn’t tell her he is married because he enjoys the attention she is giving him and fears she might change her mind about him if she knew he was married.
Normally John would be a model husband, but this night he is away from his wife and family and has had a few drinks that lower his inhibitions, like alcohol usually does with most people. He likes the attention this strange woman is giving him and it brings back memories of before he was married. The woman in the bar makes him feel attractive and desirable in a way his wife does not. After a few drinks and a couple of hours later, John goes home alone to his family, but he was sorely tempted to accept the woman’s invitation to stop by her apartment for a night cap.
Basically, John behaved out of character because he was under the influence of alcohol and he was in a different atmosphere than usual. What if he had been away from home in another city and state at a convention? What if the woman he met at the convention was from a different state hundreds of miles from where John lives? Might John have given in because he felt more confident he would not be found out? Might he have stayed in the bar longer and drank more, thus causing the alcohol to lower his inhibitions even more?
Hopefully you can see how as each of these factors of the circumstances change, so might John’s behavior, but his personality and character remain the same. These same circumstances might very well apply to a woman who is married and away from her family for a few hours and drinking alcohol, or at a convention many miles from home.
The point I am making is that often people behave the way they do more because of the circumstances they find themselves in, external factors, than because of their personality type or their character.
But We Choose Our Circumstances, Right?
Some psychologists will say, but people choose their circumstances and they choose particular circumstances because of their personality. To some degree that is true. John chose to stop at the bar on the way home and should have known there might be an attractive woman there that he had never met before. John definitely should have known that when he drinks alcohol his inhibitions are lowered.
Even so, I think we have all found ourselves in circumstances not of our choosing from time to time. Circumstances totally unexpected and not necessarily appreciated. How often do we find ourselves doing things we would not have imagined we would do when that happens? Even under normal circumstances, how often do we find ourselves going along with a friend or a group of friends in certain behaviors that normally we would never engage in?
Let me remind you that there are always exceptions. On average, 65% of the participants in the Milgram experiment complied with orders that under normal conditions they very probably never would have gone through with. 65% is not 100%. It is a very high percentage, but there were still 35% who behaved differently. Maybe you are one of the exceptions -- or maybe if you were to participate in a similar experiment to Milgram’s, you would surprise yourself by being in the majority.
Hypothetical Situations For You To Think About
Think about the following situations:
1. You are left alone in a fairly large store where you know there are no security cameras. The only clerk in the store went to the backroom to take a phone call and forgot to close the cash register where you can see there is a stack of twenty-dollar bills among other denominations of bills. There are several other customers in the store, but none of them are near where you are. No one would see you take a handful of the money and leave, and you could walk out of the store and someone else there might be suspected of the theft instead of you. There’s a good chance you would get away with it. Would you reach over and take some money and leave?
2. You are a thousand miles from home doing some research in the register of deeds office of the county where your hometown is located. You have been away from your hometown for 10 years. It just happens that a former classmate works in the register of deeds office and she is more attractive than she was when you were both back in high school. You had a crush on her back then. She is still unmarried, hotter than ever, and signaling you that she finds you attractive too. What would you do?
3. You leave the register of deeds office alone and decide to get a room for the night in the only motel in town, since it is already late afternoon. Later, when you are about to turn in for the night, there is a knock on your door. When you answer it is your former classmate from the register of deeds office and she has brought you copies of documents you made while at her office and then you forgot to take them with you. In fact, you had only just realized you had forgotten them and would have to pick them up the next day when unexpectedly she knocked on your door. What will happen next?
4. You are in the office of the head of human resources at the company where you work. That person has stepped out of the office and the file cabinet where all employee records are kept has been left unlocked. You know you have at least 10 minutes before the head of human resources will return. Will you snoop in your own, or someone else’s file, to see what is in there?
5. You are having lunch with your best friend when she excuses herself to go to the restroom. After she leaves you see her cell phone lying on the table next to her plate. Knowing your friend, she will be away for at least 10 or 15 minutes. Will you snoop in her cell phone to see whose numbers she has or if she has saved any messages? What if you were in this same situation with your boyfriend or husband? Would you snoop then?
Everyone Finds Themselves In Unexpected Circumstances Sometimes
Everyone gets into unusual circumstances from time to time. What usually determines your behavior at such a time? It is not necessary to share your thoughts with anyone else, but be honest with yourself. What would you do in circumstances like the ones described here?
Some people will do what most of us would consider to be the right thing when confronting these situations. However, some people will take advantage of the situation to do what most of us would consider the wrong thing.
How often do we hear about parents or spouses who are literally shocked because they discover their child or their husband or wife has done something totally out of character and completely unexpected?
Everyone wants to make sure other people take responsibility for their behaviors, and ultimately a person does make their own decision to do something or not to do it. Yet Milgram’s Experiment shows over and over again, that sometimes people act out of character. Milgram’s Experiment shows that the reason people most often act out of character is because of circumstances they find themselves in.
When people feel coerced by someone they believe is more powerful (an authority figure is just one example), when people think they might get away with something, sometimes even when they want badly to fit in or to be liked, and perhaps there are other reasons, people will act out of character and do things that under normal circumstances they would not do.
What has been described as mob mentality is another example of people acting out of character. What are normally decent law-abiding responsible people sometimes get caught up in a group think situation and participate in unspeakable behaviors and actions because of the circumstances they find themselves in.
How often have you heard of children going along with a friend, or group of friends, who did something that surely they knew was unacceptable? Maybe the children were at a party where drugs were being circulated and that situation will persuade them to go along with what everyone else is doing. They do not want to be the only person at the party who is not going along with what most other partygoers are doing. They do not want to draw attention to themselves by saying no.
More Psychology from Au Fait
- Does Your Height Affect Your Success? If So, How And Why? Is Taller Really Smarter?
Height makes a difference in both employment and romantic success for both men and women. Some possible reasons why this is true. - Depression: 7 Steps You Can Take To Help Yourself
Here are some proven things you can do to help yourself ward off depression, or just lift your spirits. If these recommendations fail to help, consult a professional. - Conformity: How Important Is It to YOU to Fit In?
Solomon Asch Experiments on conformity. How important is it to you, or to people generally to fit in? Why do many people choose to fit in?
The Importance Of Fitting In
The Solomon Asch Experiments, which will be the focus of one of my future hubs, show that most people want to fit in more than they want to do the right thing, even if doing the wrong thing will hurt them. I will share those experiments with you in another hub, but they also point to circumstances having more influence on behavior than personality or character.
Many people disagree that circumstances play such a big roll in human behavior, but most of them will readily admit it is because they are afraid people will not be held accountable if it becomes widely accepted that it was the circumstances rather than the individual’s decision and judgment that caused the problem. Sort of like people not wanting to accept that sometimes people really are insane when they commit certain crimes, and they really were not responsible for what they did because their brain was not functioning normally. I will discuss this in a future hub also.
Think about this. If you are a chocolate lover and there was a decadent delicious brownie, renowned for its superior quality from an exclusive restaurant, just one brownie of that sort, sitting in your pantry, would you eat it? Let’s say you brought it home from a luncheon at that exclusive restaurant with friends ostensibly for your roommate who loves chocolate, but she is at work and does not know you have a brownie for her. You plan to surprise her with it when she gets home. She will never know if you eat the brownie . . .
unless one of the friends you had lunch with tells her and asks her if she enjoyed it. It’s those little details that people often overlook that get them into trouble.
Questions & Answers
My mother (78) has been very short tempered as of late. I find her snapping at me almost constantly. I have asked her to stop and she storms away angrily. I’ve distanced myself from her over the oast few days but she’s always nearby. What can I do to avoid constantly being embarrassed by her actions around other people? I’m at my wits end! Thankfully she lives far away but happens to be visiting for the Summer.
You didn't mention your mother's age or circumstances other than that she is visiting for the summer. Is she at an age when dementia may be a factor? People in any of the stages of dementia can be difficult to get along with. Is your mother experiencing difficult financial issues? Having bills to pay and no money to pay them can make anyone grumpy and sadly people take it out on others who may not be responsible for their predicament. They are frustrated and angry and generally take out their unhappiness on whoever is close by or convenient. Try to determine what is causing your mother to behave as she is doing and then think about what you can do to help or improve it. She was there for you when you couldn't help yourself and now it's your turn . . .
I know people get embarrassed when people they're with or related to behave badly, but most of us do not blame the people around them for their behavior. We are all responsible for our own behavior if we are capable of being responsible. I think most people recognize that you can't control your mother's behavior. Look into what is causing her behavior and perhaps you can help her find a solution to more pleasant interactions, or at least a good reason for why she is acting as she is.
Helpful 2
Comments
Thank you for your elaborate response-can we refer to that imposing factor as pressure?
what is the psychological term for such imposing external pressure of circumstances that force people behave out of their character, or it is just called pressure ?
-
-
what are the circumstances that cause the behavior?
From a person who has been criticized for being "quiet," I can relate to this.
Most "quiet" people usually end up assimilating. What's worse is that they make fun of other "quiet" people to deflect from their own problems and to fit in. "Quiet" and "introverted" people don't really exist, they were just forced into circumstances where they couldn't share their hobbies (usually non-mainstream/non-American). In other circumstances, they act the opposite just like everybody else. Throw a "loud" person in a room where people don't care about his/her interests and are unwanted, they will be "quiet." It's ironic how "oppressed" people, people who try to increase awareness about mental illness, etc, have the nerve to paint themselves as the victim when these exact people most likely gave "quiet" people crap and choose to conveniently filter that part out. For the few who didn't, they still have friends that did so that makes them an enabler. They got a small taste of their own medicine so instead of broadcasting that victim mentality, they should learn from it and be a better person.
People like to paint themselves in a good light but the truth is that they were fortunate enough to not find themselves in certain circumstances. most people are hypocrites.
Hypothetical Situations For You To Think About 1-5 ... I feel these are irrelevant (I vote for circumstances to) ...I would do the right thing on everyone of them... I would however fall into deprivation (as I have) if my life was in a bad place, relationship with wife was really-really bad, my finances were in the toilet and I was desperate, or I needed to prove to myself of my correct assessment of my wife or girlfriends infidelity or at the least ,validate my judgment of my relationship.
I'm a psychology student too, I'm going to share your article translated into another language, on facebook. May I?
-
-
Not true. Only when true choice is presented not ultimatum person can make their choice not one that is expected from others.
Good points.
Yes, the need to belong is very important to people. It's not necessarily a bad thing.
I remember an experiment where the confederates will say the shortest of three sticks was the longest. Many of the subjects would agree. Some of the subjects would say the stick that was longer than the shortest but shorter than the longest was the longest stick. An interesting subconcious way to have the best of both worlds.
In spiritual realm, human nature is the major cause of our choices.
The inclination of our choices is depends on our spiritual condition. Human behavior is just a reflection of man's spiritual condition. External factor like circumstances can affects man's hidden behavior.
There are people can handle every situation and behave uprightly because his spiritual condition is not depraved.
I noticed that one comment on here was from a "Diogenes," but it was not mine. It seems casual visitors can use any name they wish, including one of our hubbers nom de plumes, when they comment. Is this so d'you know?
ps. Our lousy Tory government has just done the 2017 budget and advised us in in grave tones we all need to "make tough choices." Don't you love these pond slime? At least they haven't mentioned tightening our belts this year! Which must be causing consternation among our higher salaried folk as they decide against the Ferrari and settle for a Bentley this year! We commoners know that means switching to tuna and leaving the fillet steak to our dreams.
Love
The real successor to Diogenes xo
I am fascinated by this article. You make a strong case. I learned about the Milgram aka Eichmann Experiment in the Psychology 101 class I took. I am impressed you brought it up. Keep in mind people are trained from birth to follow orders from experts and authority figures. By the time someone is an adult they know authority figures usually know what they are doing. In the film of the experiment I watched the authority figure showed no doubt in asking the subject to continue. I would be interested in knowing if they found any common factors with those who refused to continue with the experiment.
In the example of the man being tempted I would propose it would depend on the man's past experiences.
Au fait, re: my grandmother story. She didn't dwell on her situation. She was too busy. Her husband passed away when her last child, my dad, was 2 yrs old. She packed up her brood into her wagon with one mule and took two years to move to a homestead further west.
She passed when I was 15. After her funeral at her home her kids and grand kids were having a time distributing grandmother's cute hankies she always carried in her right hand when she was out in public. Her next door neighbor came over and got into the mix. Then she asked what was the significance of the hankies for the family? We told her, when she was a toddler living in a log cabin in northern KY, she fell into the fireplace and burned her hand terribly. Her burned hand resembled a withered hook and she hid it under her hankies. The neighbor was shocked beyond belief....she had lived next door for 30 years and never knew.
Don't feel sorry for grandmother. Her children and grandchildren gave her lots of love'n ....you see, her birthday was on the first day of April and jokes were played on her all that day and we laughed and laughed and she laughed and laughed as she would run after us.
Back to your study...perhaps one can address poverty with laughter and jokes and music.
Circumstances certainly do play a major rule in how people act. I am thinking of the human tragedy now in terms of lives with people trying to flee ISIS controlled territories. Those who do not drown at sea and reach other shores are still being sorely tried as other countries try and determine just how many of these refugees they can absorb and help financially. Sad stories are rampant now on each evening newscast.
Good article and one that makes one think. Sharing once again. Hope you enjoy your Labor Day holiday.
I have a terrible story to tell. My grandmother was born in 1872. After being married for 12 years, she and granddad had 6 children. They lived in extreme poverty in a log cabin. There was no work so granddad left to work in the northwest timber industry to send money home. After he had left on his second trip, grandmother found herself pregnant again. Now these were god fearing, loving people. Hardworkers. Living in poverty. Grandmother was desperate...there was not enough food, clothing, space...not enough of anything. She felt she had to abort the pregnancy. But how? She used hat pins!! She was unsuccessful. Poverty forces good people to do terrible things to themselves and others.
Fast forward more than a half century, I lived with my brain-damaged, trainable uncle for a time. Grandmother had trained my uncle to care for himself. She did not want anyone to feel obligated to care for him...she did not want any of the other children (she had two more) to be burdened by her mistake. My uncle did OK. He was physically strong, healthy, could care for himself just fine. He worked in the community at odd jobs, often physically demanding. People generally treated him fairly. Only a few very close family members could understand his speech or intent at communicating. He could not read or write or "cipher"....television was a blessing in his later years. And, thinking back on my age 17 live-in experience with him, it was not what one would think. There were no feelings of love in the usual sense, like hugging or stroking or laughing or playing...it was more like two guys put together in a living situation trying to make the best of it.
I am in my 80's now. I only heard this full family story a few years ago from an aunt of mine. GOD, I HATE POVERTY....WHAT IT DOES TO GOOD PEOPLE....and a society that does not address that issue is ....(I can't find the words.)
Very very interesting AuFait...
I do tend to believe that behavior is influenced more by circumstances than by other factors. When we were homeless, we did things we never thought we would...nothing illegal or outrageous just not living our lives like we would have had the CIRCUMSTANCES been different.
Hoping all is well in your little corner of the planet.
Angels are on the way to you this evening ps
shared and voted up+++
Hi Au Fait. I just came by to let you know that there has been a change of plans and I am going to be retiring from Hubpages. I just came to say goodbye. I will wait until you have responded before I delete my articles. You have been a good friend Au Fait and I thank you very much for your support.
Hi Au Fait. Sorry I haven't been on in a while there have been a lot of things going on here at home lately. My computer is dead so I have to use someone elses until I get a new one and also I think I may be developing allergies. I was cutting the grass earlier and I started sneezing a lot and my eyes got watery which is odd because I don usually react like that when I cut the grass. I don't know when I will get to writtinga new article yet but I will try when I can.
Thank you Au Fait. Sorry I haven't been on hubpages much lately I have been doing a lot of things on facebook. My computer has also been running kind of slow which is why I haven't written a new article lately but I might be starting a new one soon. I recently saw that new Godzilla movie that came out and I have been thinking about writing a review on it as my new article.
Did you read this paper? Heavy work I'm afraid: very wordy and in tiny typeface on my download. Bit like understanding relativity; you just think you've grasped it and it slides out of focus again!
Too much for moi and boring!
Rx
Hi Au Fait. I don't know if this is the right place to ask this but I recently came across what I think is a thesis about the future evolution of consciousness written by a guy named John Stewart (not John Stewart from The Daily Show). John Stewart is part of the Evolutionary Activism movement which is some kind of spiritual movement. I read his paper but there are some parts of it that I don't quite understand. The parts that I do get are that he talks about how our evolutionary success is dominated by the Hedonic System or something like that and that we pursue proxies for evolutionary success and that pursuing goals for more direct evolutionary success will improve the future evolution of consciousness or something like that.
When you have time to could you take a look at this paper an tell me what you think because I am not really an expert in these kinds of subjects. You can read it here.
Great insight once again. That has been my complaint against the human race in general. Most people are decent individually, not so much in groups. May go back to stone age past. Being ostracized was the worst thing that could happen to one; and the ostracized left few offspring. Non-conformity is a rarity and a blessing.
Au fait, I don't believe Psychologist know beans abou circumstances, or else I would be Clyde's Bonnie, or a female Jessi James.
Voted up, UAI and shared.
Sorry...most if the comment went missing
Tom Paxtons "The Marvellous Toy." It went "zip" when it moved, and "Pop!" when it stopped, and "Whirr!" when it stood still.
I never knew just what it was, and I guess I never will."
I would never take money, snoop in someones phone or look in their medicine cabinet. Children will do things they shouldn't we just have to hope they will grow into adults that know what to do and not follow the group. Interesting hub voted up and shared.
I still believe it is not the circumstances, but how a person reacts to circumstances.
Au fait, this is a wonderful hub and should be read by every one who thinks they cannot change their circumstances.
Voted-up, UAI pinned and shared again.
Fascinating ... and it takes us back to the nature vs. nurture issue. How much of our behavior is determined by the fact that we live in America, for example, rather than Somalia? Would we have different values, a different attitude, for example, towards having our daughters get married at age 14? It is interesting how many of our values and behaviors are based on our situation rather than some intrinsic force!
No, I would not steal money left unattended, no I would not snop through the file drawer left unattended. That is just a fact.
I agree, that the circumstances, the perils of life, and the strong influences of society, which are detrimental to growing children, have more influence on personality and mental illness. Environment as opposed to genetics, will show in most cases that one's surroundings have a much greater influence. I have worked with children for many years and some who were emotionally harmed by their environment. I saw first hand these detrimental effects and how they caused the kids to have unusual behavior and thank God through our programs and other similar ones, we have been able to improve and help these kids to become more emotionally stable and able to deal with life better. Thanks for this vital and informative work. whonu
Au fait.....My own studies/research is in forensic psychology, particularly behavioral science. Perhaps your excellent hub is of great interest to me? Great job, btw.
Background aside? I must agree with Mary (my dear friend Tillie) and state that no circumstance nor pressure of authority, would cause me to act against my core personality/basic behavior beliefs. Having said this, the possible exception "might" be a life or death situation, which I did not see mentioned here.
Familiar with the studies/experiments, you present here, I would like to suggest something vital. I see that it was vaguely touched upon within the comments.....however, with regard to Milgram=Nazis=war crimes=obeying orders=horrific behavior: The determining factor was pure FEAR, as opposed to respect and/or obedience to authority. In this case, the authorities were sociopaths, using power, threats and the fulfillment of such. This is a complex scenario, to say the least.
As for the behaviors/personality/personal constitution vs. "circumstances" where human sexuality/morality is the study subject?
I'm not touching that one with a ten foot wall covered in degrees!! LOL You are one brave lady.... THAT, is in a category all by itself...and about 100,000 hubs worth of discussion.
Your very interesting hub can't help but encourage your readers to THINK!!! BRAVO, Au fait!......Voted UP ++++
This is a very interesting and well-presented hub. However, I disagree with its fundamental question and its conclusions: You propose two sources for our decisions: circumstances, and personality. Circumstances are outside us. Personality is is from our past. There is a third option: Freedom to choose. Stephen Covey, inspired by Viktor Frankl, has explored this option and shown that anyone who chooses to can increase his or her own Freedom to Choose and become more and more capable of making ethical and effective choices by making a habit of awareness, healthy conscience, imagination, and independent will.
I remember being astonished when I learned about that experiment in college. I couldn't believe that the so many of the participants continued to take orders and didn't just walk away. I thought the follow up was interesting, since many of the participants placed the blame on the experimenter. I think in general, however, that there is a big link between personality and what someone would do under these circumstances. I believe that people that are driven by an internal reward system rather than an external reward system are more apt to question authority. This is a great experiment to bring to the attention of your readers, and I look forward to your presentation of the Asch experiment. Great job, voted up, interesting, useful and sharing!
I can't imagine anything that would make me break my "personal code of conduct". I know there are temptations but right is right. In the brownie situation, like you, I would've bought more than one brownie to avoid that, situationally I can't eat brownies any more so the point would be moot ;) As for hurting another human being there is nothing that could be done to me that would make me do it, at least not intentionally.
I have to agree with Bob on society's acceptance of the government though. We've all been conditioned to "take it like it is".
You always provide such in-depth subjects and research. Impeccably providing us with the facts and leading us to think and re-think the subject.
Voted up, useful, awesome, and interesting.
Oh, this is a lot to think about. You did an outstanding job on this Hub. I will bookmark it so I can return to it. I think circumstances determine our behavior, for sure.
Vote UP, etc. and will share.
Aufait,
This is another awesome hub and well-researched as usual. Based on my personal experiences, I agree that most of the time circumstances determine behavior. Isn't this one way of explaining "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" mentality? Voted up and sharing with followers and on Facebook. Also Pinning and tweeting.
I think that character develops with age and that younger people who are still in the formative stages can be more easily swayed. That is why the Nazi's could have children turning in their parents if they heard them saying things contrary to the Nazi ideas. That being said, this study of situational psychology is an interesting one. Many criminals use it to their advantage. An example might be that of a criminal pretending to be a police officer and knocking on a door. Most people would probably open it because of the "authority figure" presented by the criminal wearing that uniform.
As for me...that brownie would be safe for my roommate. Up and interesting and will share.
I've heard a little about this before from friends who are psychologists. I've always thought psychology was so interesting. I think people do not like to accept this because they are afraid those who murder or steal won't be held accountable.
Interesting article. I always learn something when I read you.
Thanks for a very thought provoking article - sometimes we would do well to expect the unexpected of ourselves, and others.
Now to the chocolate question - On more than one occasion I have bought chocolate bars for other people but they have never received them as I ate them before I got the chance to hand them over (as I write this I feel some shame but I'm laughing too!).
However, nowadays, straight after I have purchased the chocs I send the person a text telling them I have a chocolate treat for them - this saves both guilt and my waistine.
Situational ethics, we called it in my school studies. And how arrogantly we swore we would never fall into the trap of bending our rules or sullying our principles! My experience in life (and business) has shown me clearly how difficult it is to live by what one believes.
I agree that many people are blissfully unaware that social psychology is being used against them, including me in many cases; I just don't notice.
When a set of circumstances in my life seemed to conspire against me I had to look very closely to see if I was following the crowd, obeying authority, or trying my best to live my truth. I found out I was obeying authority because I was taught to do so. However, I had a lot of covert hostility boiling beneath the surface and it was that barely hidden hostility that cost me the most.
Thank you so much for such a thought-provoking hub! I have become quite caught up in your articles, now that I have found you.
Hi. I read this article again today and your comments.
Perhaps more people would buck some systems if they weren't so punished for doing so. Take the riots and economic state of Britain (and the US). No one except those so blessed like the idea that the top salaries in the land are 100 times the median wage. But the riots showed what happened when the people objected
People object that 90% of government ministers are Oxbridge educated when their own kids have more chance of getting to the moon, and the front row of parliamentary ministers all make in excess of $200,000 per annum, while they dispute giving state pensioners a raise of $30 per month!
The blatant unfairness of it all calls for insurrection, but the police are ready with the tear gas and water cannons.
Hope you are well, sweetie
Bob x
I also voted this article up. For me, I don't think it is circumstance as much as it is how a person reacts to the circumstance.
The Brownie: I would not eat it if I took for someone else.
I love explorations of the mind and our motivations, and this is a good one. Your questions were thought-provoking. I was OK with all of my answers until you got to the brownie. Then I pondered it. I realized I'd probably take the 10-year old's solution. I'd give her the brownie so I wouldn't get caught, but I'd shave a little off it so I could get another taste! lol
This is an extremely interesting and well written article. Many thanks for sharing this information with us. A big vote up from me.
There have been several similar experiments to the Milgram done: one was at Yale, I think, about 30 years ago, when a control group pushed buttons which would maim or kill others (etc).
I believe many (or most) peple are weak and their genome allows for much leeway in their behavior.
Can't enlarge on this in comments.
Good and provoking article
Bob
88