Question

How might clinical psychologists who held relativist versus more absolutist ideas struggle with the sociological view of Lifton who asserts that the social system rather than the individual tendencies shaped the forces that led doctor to torture jewish prisoners during the holocaust?

Answer 1

The clinical psychologist would argue that it is the persons' innate desire to be nice and obey is making the person torture other people during the holocaust. The infamous Miller experiment proved this very nature of human being to obey has caused them to put people through torture. Many studies by psychologists like Jerrry Berger (2007) and Gina Perry (2012) found that people want to comply with the authority even if they are disclosed about the hurt and the atrocity they will be causing to the other person.