The Reasons as to Why People Kill - Assignment Example

Radiolab writing assignment Dr. David Bauss after an incident with a friend was motivated to conduct a survey in his introductory psychology class on the reasons as to why people kill. Priory, his friend had been angered by his spouse after a dinner party where she publicly criticized him, which led him to contemplate murdering her. Therefore, Dr. Bauss circulated a questionnaire in his classroom inquiring from his students whether they had meditated over killing someone. Results from the survey indicated that 75-80% of his respondents had murderous thoughts prior to the survey. He further broadened his research sample to include 5000 people from around the world in countries like Peru, the United Kingdom and Australia. His results showed that 91% of the men sampled and 84% of the women sampled contemplated murdering someone. Furthermore, they gave vivid descriptions of their alleged victims, the means to be employed and the precise moments they would execute their plans. For example, a female (aged 20 years) respondent wanted to kill an ex-boyfriend who was apparently blackmailing her with the threat of circulating some intimate footage to people at her university. One can conclude that the respondents of these studies lack emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to an individual’s ability to understand and control their emotions. It encompasses four components, which include perceiving emotions, using emotions, understanding emotions and managing emotions. An individual must first decipher his emotions in order to understand their source of origin. Secondly, one should use their emotions in the appraisal of cognitive functions such as thinking and problem solving. Lastly, one should manage their emotions in order to influence those of others (Zimbardo et al 400).The respondents’ inability to control their emotions results in the development of irrational murderous thoughts, which impedes their ability to explore other alternative solutions of mitigating the problem. Dr. Bauss friend’s inability to control his anger due to public ridicule by his wife is an indicator that he is incapable of accepting negative criticism, which functions to cloud his better judgment. Stanley Milgram renowned experiment focused on individuals asked to electrocute ‘learners’ who failed to get correct answers after studying paired words displayed on a sheet of paper. The male subjects aged between 20 and 50 years, were required to electrocute the ‘learners’ each time the latter wrongfully answered a question. The main aim of the experiment was to test the extent subjects follow orders pertaining to inflicting harm on others. The experiment showed that 65% of the subjects were willing to shock the ‘learner’ repeatedly even during instances where the “learner” was no longer screaming. Twenty to forty variations were used in the experiment including the use of women as test subjects and altering sitting positions and each variation yielded different results. In one of the variations, experimenters put the subject and the “learner” in the same room whereby, the subject had to hold down the learner’s hand onto the plate to expose them to shock. In this variation, obedience rate dropped to 30%. Conversely, when two experimenters differed, the obedience rates dropped to 10%. The experimenters would probe the participants to continue with the experiment when they seemed hesitant. Experimenters noted that when participants received mandatory instructions to continue shocking the learners, they obliged. Alex Haslam explains this behavior as people being willing to put themselves or others in harm’s way for the sake of a greater good. Behavior displayed by the participants in Milgram’s experiment is explainable using extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation encompasses a form of motivation whereby, people engage in behaviors in order to receive an external reward (Zimbardo et al 365). Extrinsic motivation explains why these individuals were willing to put others in harm’s way for a greater cause. When experimenters asked subjects why they participated in the experiment, the latter replied that it was for the greater good of science. Additionally, they said they would willingly participate in a similar experiment again. One can, therefore conclude that these individuals were not sadistic but extrinsically motivated; they did not deprive pleasure from hurting other people. Fritz Haber was a great scientist of the 20th century who discovered ammonia in the means of trying to provide food for people who were starving in Germany. Haber was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1918 for his great scientific discovery. When World War I began, he joined the army and volunteered his scientific expertise to create weaponry that would assist the German army win the war; for example, he wanted to use chlorine gas to flush out their enemies. The German army officials declined this request but he nevertheless planned and executed his plan. This resulted in the death of soldiers from the French and British armies. However, during the reign of Adolf Hitler, he resigned from his job after Hitler imposed sanctions against Jews working in public office. Haber’s brilliance was tainted by his lack of morality and empathy for humanity. Ambition is a positive aspect when used for the greater good of mankind. However, when used as a way of advancing one’s own agenda, it can lead to potential harm. Haber’s discovery was ground breaking designed to save millions of lives from death by starvation. Its use in warfare resulted in catastrophic death. Willingness to do anything in order to accomplish one’s desires threatens the safety and wellbeing of others, as one is ready to forsake others and their needs. Haber’s behavior mirrors that of a sensation seeker, which refers to an individual who has a biological need for stimulation (Zimbardo et al 397). Individuals take part in activities that meet their biological needs. Research suggests that the underlying cause of this phenomenon is biology involving the brain’s dopamine pathways. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in controlling the pleasure and reward centers of the brain. Iago, from Shakespeare’s play Othello is a devious and evil character. Iago orchestrates strife between friends and lover’s alike. He even gets to the point of lying to Othello, his boss, about his wife having an affair, which leads to Othello murdering his own wife. Soon after, when the truths about Iago’s actions are uncovered and he is questioned as to why he did what he did, he gave no explanations. Similarly, Gary Leon Ridgeway, a serial killer responsible for the murder of 49 women. Ridgeway, picked up prostitutes, murdered them and proceeded to have sex with them posthumously. Reportedly, he may have been responsible for the deaths of more than 75 women but law enforcement agencies only irrefutably traced 49 to him. When further probed to disclose the reason for killing the women all he said was that he was angry. The behavior of fictional character Iago and that of Gary Ridgeway is explainable using intrinsic motivation, which encompasses an individual’s desires to engage in an activity for their own sake and not because of external rewards (Zimbardo et al 396). Intrinsic motivations give individual feelings of personal accomplishment and reward. This explains the inability of Iago and Ridgeway to attribute their evil acts to anything else other than their personal acts. In conclusion, individuals are susceptible to committing inhumane acts against others due to factors such as extrinsic and intrinsic motivators and personality maladjustments. In my opinion, I feel that it is important to know the reason as to why a person committed an evil act because then we can understand what the person was feeling and what possible interventions are likely to mitigate these feelings. Identifying this reason additionally assists in enlightening others on signs that show that an individual may have a problem that needs fixing immediately in order to prevent harm to others or to the individual. Works Cited Zimbardo, Philip G, Robert L Johnson and Vivian McCann. Psychology: Key Concepts. New York: Pearson Education Inc, 2012. Read More