Just Following Orders
Author | : Emilie A. Caspar |
Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | : 400 |
Release | : 2024-07-25 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781009385398 |
ISBN-13 | : 1009385399 |
Rating | : 4/5 (98 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: How can obedience and carrying out orders lead to horrific acts such as the Holocaust or the genocides in Rwanda, Cambodia, or Bosnia? For the most part, it is a mystery why obeying instructions from an authority can convince people to kill other human beings, sometimes without hesitation and with incredible cruelty. Combining social and cognitive neuroscience with real-life accounts from genocide perpetrators, this book sheds light on the process through which obedience influences cognition and behavior. Emilie Caspar, a leading expert in the field, translates this neuroscientific approach into a clear, uncomplicated explanation, even for those with no background in psychology or neuroscience. By better understanding humanity's propensity for direct orders to short-circuit our own independent decision-making, we can edge closer to effective prevention processes.