Ervin Staub > Quotes

“Evil that arises out of ordinary thinking and is committed by ordinary people is the norm, not the exception.”
― Ervin Staub, The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence

“One psychological consequence of harm-doing is further devaluation of victims…people tend to assume that victims have earned their suffering by their actions or character.”
― Ervin Staub, The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others

“How does harmful behavior become the norm?…Doing harm to a good person or passively witnessing it is inconsistent with a feeling of responsibility for the welfare of others and the belief in a just world. Inconsistency troubles us. We minimize it by reducing our concern for the welfare of those we harm or allow to suffer. We devalue them, justify their suffering by their evil nature or by higher ideals. A changed view of the victims, changed attitude toward that suffering, and changed self-concept result.”
― Ervin Staub, The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others