The dark side of social encounters: Prospects for a neuroscience of human evil

Martin Reimann, Philip G. Zimbardo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article discusses how findings from social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience might contribute to our understanding of human evil. Integrating theories of personality and social psychology as well as the notions of deindividuation and dehumanization with recent neuroscientific insight, the authors elaborate on the nature of human evil and its potential roots in brain systems associated with affective processing and cognitive control.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)174-180
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics
Volume4
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Affective neuroscience
  • Aggression
  • Cognitive
  • Dehumanization
  • Deindividuation
  • Human evil
  • Social

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Business, Management and Accounting (miscellaneous)
  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Applied Psychology
  • Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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