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At the same time the prisoners, referred to only by their numbers and treated harshly, rebelled and blockaded themselves inside their cells.

"Suddenly, the whole dynamic changed as they believed they were dealing with dangerous prisoners, and at that point it was no longer an experiment,"

"What was demanded of me physically was way too much and I also felt that there was really nobody rational at the wheel of this thing so I started refusing food."

out of fear or out of a desire to appear cooperative

"Teachers" were asked to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to the "learner" when questions were answered incorrectly.

illustrates people's reluctance to confront those who abuse power

the experiment would study the effects of punishment on learning ability

45-volt shock samples

2.5 percent of participants used the full 450 volts available.

grunt at 75 volts; complain at 120 volts; ask to be released at 150 volts; plead with increasing vigor, next; and let out agonized screams at 285 volts.

yell loudly and complain of heart pain.

actor would refuse to answer any more questions

330 volts the actor would be totally silent

treat silence as an incorrect answer and apply the next shock level to the student.

hesitated to inflict the shocks, the experimenter would pressure him to proceed

Some teachers refused to continue with the shocks early on, despite urging from the experimenter.

expected as the norm

(65%) of the teachers were willing to progress to the maximum voltage level

participants continued to obey

he proceeded, repeating to himself, "It’s got to go on, it’s got to go on."

visible but teachers were asked to force the learner’s hand to the shock plate so they could deliver the punishment

Less obedience was extracted from subjects in this case.

teachers were instructed to apply whatever voltage they desired to incorrect answers.

15 to 450 volts

averaged 83 volts

most participants were good, average people, not evil individuals. They obeyed only under coercion.

authority figure was in close proximity

teachers felt they could pass on responsibility to others

experiments took place under the auspices of a respected organization

Rebelled.

gave up responsibility for their actions, blaming the experimenter

Obeyed but blamed themselves.

harsh on themselves

Obeyed but justified themselves.

was a greater ethical imperative calling for the protection of the learner over the needs of the experimenter.

He seems calm, even normal

his IQ is over 140

The subjects rate whether the picture is a moral violation on a scale of 1 to 5. Kiehl says most psychopaths do not differ from normal subjects in the way they rate the photos: Both psychopaths and the average person rank the KKK with a burning cross as a moral violation. But there's a key difference: Psychopaths' brains behave differently from that of a nonpsychopathic person. When a normal person sees a morally objectionable photo, his limbic system lights up. This is what Kiehl calls the "emotional circuit," involving the orbital cortex above the eyes and the amygdala deep in the brain. But Kiehl says when psychopaths like Dugan see the KKK picture, their emotional circuit does not engage in the same way.

He notes that alcoholics have brain abnormalities. Do we give them a pass if they kill someone while driving drunk?

Neuroscience and neuroimaging is going to change the whole philosophy about how we punish and how we decide who to incapacitate and how we decide how to deal with people

Just like DNA, he believes brain scans will eventually be standard fare. And that, he and others say, could upend our notions of culpability, crime and punishment.