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Cited by 179Torture, Ethics, and LawSocial and Intergroup PsychologyPsychology of Social Influence

Why Ordinary People Torture Enemy Prisoners

Fiske, Susan T., Harris, Lasana T., Cuddy, Amy J. C.·2004·Science
DOI 10.1126/science.1103788
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Abstract

Accounts of prisoner abuse and other institutional violence often blame a few isolated individuals, but social psychology emphasizes social contexts, which can make almost anyone oppress, conform, and obey in abetting destructive social behavior. In this [Policy Forum][1], meta-analyses demonstrate the quantitative reliability and import of social contexts. Moreover, recent data show that initial reactions to low-status, oppositional outgroups may involve disgust and contempt, consistent with abuse. Together, social pressures and social prejudices help explain the recent abuse scandals. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5701/1482

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.1103788

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  • Discriminatory or inhumane behaviors may not seem to matter because one fails to consider the person's mental experience.

    “Thus, discriminatory or inhumane behaviors may not seem to matter because one fails to consider the person’s mental experience (Fiske, Harris, & Cuddy, 2004).”

    From Dehumanized Perception: A Psychological Means to Facilitate Atrocities, Torture, and Genocide? (2011) · cites this paper as Fiske, Harris, & Cuddy, 2004

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Authors
Fiske, S. T., Harris, L. T., & Cuddy, A. J. C.
Affiliations
Princeton University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Published
2004-11-26
Volume
306
Issue
5701
Pages
1482-1483
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.1103788
OpenAlex
W1918603588
Cited by
179
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 10
FWCI
24.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Torture, Ethics, and Law
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychology of Social Influence
Keywords
prisoner abuse, torture, social context of violence, obedience, conformity, institutional violence, disgust, contempt, outgroup hostility, social prejudice, abuse scandals
MeSH terms
Aggression, Emotions, Group Processes, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Iraq, Military Personnel, Peer Group, Prejudice, Prisoners, Psychology, Social, Social Conformity, Stress, Physiological, Torture, United States, Warfare, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Human Rights Abuses

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