Lucifer Effect

The Lucifer Effect refers to how ordinary people can commit harmful or immoral acts under certain circumstances, often influenced by authority, group dynamics, or situational pressures. Coined by psychologist Philip Zimbardo, it highlights how situational factors and loss of personal responsibility can lead individuals to behave in ways they normally wouldn't, such as in experiments like the Stanford Prison Study. Essentially, it explores how good people can do bad things when placed in environments that encourage or justify such behavior, emphasizing the power of context over inherent character.