For those who suffered. In hope of a better world. The roots of evil ERVIN STAUB is Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has conducted extensive research and published many articles on helping, altruism, values, aggression, and motivation. He is author of the two-volume work, Positive Social Behavior and Morality. In 1990, Professor Staub was awarded the Intercultural and International Relations Prize of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (a division of the American Psychological Association). The roots of evil The origins of genocide and other group violence ERVIN STAUB University of Massachusetts at Amherst CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521354073 © Cambridge University Press 1989 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1989 20th printing 2009 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. 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Contents Preface Acknowledgments Part I Psychological and cultural bases of genocide and other forms of group violence 1 An introduction The approach and content of the book A brief preview • Differences and similarities and the selection of cases The definitions of genocide and mass killing Four mass killings/genocides The Holocaust • The genocide of the Armenians • The autogenocide (Khmer killing Khmer) in Cambodia • The disappearances in Argentina • Is mass killing ever justified? 2 The origins of genocide and mass killing: core concepts A conception of the origins of genocide and mass killing Difficult life conditions • Psychological consequences: needs and goals • Ways of coping and fulfilling needs and goals • The continuum of destruction • Cultural-societal characteristics • The role of bystanders • The role of motivation Leadership and followership The individual and the system The roots of evil Groups as evil or good Comparison of personal (and social) goal theory and other approaches Compartmentalization of functions and euphemistic language • Obedience to authority and the authoritarianism of culture • Psychosocial consequences of World War I on German youth • Anti-Semitism in Germany • The role of the family • Hitler’s personality and psychopathology • The role of victims • Complex analyses of the origins of the Holocaust • Some further comparisons Summary: a conception of motivation and evolution 3 The psychology of hard times: the effects of difficult life conditions Motivations arising from threat, frustration, or difficult life conditions Motivational sources of human behavior • Motivations for aggression: psychological states and processes that promote aggression • Difficult life conditions and aggression The effect of stress and danger on psychological experience The long-term effects of combat experience Strategies for coping and goal satisfaction 4 Cultural and individual characteristics The influence of culture Aggressiveness as a persistent behavioral mode • Cultural self-concept, self-esteem, and world view • Cultural goals and values • Moral value orientations • Ingroup-outgroup differentiation and devaluation of outgroups • Pluralistic and monolithic cultures • Orientation to authority • Unconscious motivation – individual and cultural The influence of sociopolitical organization Governmental system • Social institutions 5 The psychology of perpetrators: individuals and groups Roles and other social processes as origins of harm-doing Self-selection and the personality of perpetrators The potentially antisocial person • Family origins of the potentially antisocial personality • Authority orientation and its sources in the family The origins of destructiveness in personality and in the situation The fanatic as perpetrator Behavior in groups The subcultures of perpetrators • Psychological functioning and individual responsibility 6 Steps along a continuum of destruction: perpetrators and bystanders Just-world thinking Learning by doing and the evolution of extreme destructiveness Compartmentalization and integration Other origins of mistreatment The role and power of bystanders Part II The Nazi Holocaust 7 Hitler comes to power Genocide and “insanity” Life conditions: loss of war, the Treaty of Versailles, and economic and political chaos The guiding motive for the Holocaust: ideology Reasons for Hitler’s appeal: a summary 8 Preconditions for the Holocaust in German culture The devaluation of Jews Self-concept, self-esteem, and national goals The Germans as a superior people Respect for and obedience to authority The influence of Nietzsche Rationality versus sentimental romanticism The psychological effects on German youth of World War I and the postwar period Youth groups and military groups after World War I 9 Nazi rule and steps along the continuum of destruction Increasing mistreatment of Jews The evolution of ideas, actions, and the system: euthanasia and genocide The power of giving onself over to a group, an ideal, or a leader The role of the totalitarian system 10 The SS and the psychology of perpetrators The creation, evolution, and role of the SS Characteristics of SS members Learning by participation The interweaving and merging of role and person The extermination camps: Auschwitz The psychology of perpetrators: individuals and the system The characteristics and functioning of perpetrators • Behavioral shifts Moral equilibration, choice, and responsibility Individual responsibility The completion tendency: killing till the very end 11 The behavior and psychology of bystanders and victims The role of bystanders The passivity of German bystanders • Bystanders and perpetrators in Nazi Europe • The passivity of the outside world Jewish cooperation, resistance, and psychological experience The Jewish councils • Jewish actions • The psychology of victims The power of heroic bystanders Heroic rescuers Part III Other genocides and mass killings 12 The Turkish genocide of the Armenians Historical (life) conditions Cultural preconditions The devaluation of minorities and Christians • Orientation to authority Steps along the continuum of destruction Devaluation and increasing mistreatment Armenian “provocation” The evolution of Young Turk ideology The machinery of destruction The genocide The role of bystanders 13 Cambodia: genocide to create a better world Historical (life) conditions Cambodian peasants: economic conditions, uprising, reprisals • Political instability and violence The Khmer Rouge rule and “autogenocide” Ideological bias and reports and views of atrocities Ideology, world view, and the aims of the Khmer Rouge Cultural preconditions: the roots of ideology and genocide Class divisions, urban-rural rift, and slavery • Orientation to authority • The ideology of antagonism toward Vietnam • Cultural self-concept • A tradition of violence in Cambodia Experiential and intellectual sources of ideology and fanaticism Gaining followers: the tools of revolution and genocide The role of specific individuals Steps along the continuum of destruction The role
