Why obeying orders can make us do terrible things

(Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience - KNAW) War atrocities are sometimes committed by 'normal' people obeying orders. Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience measured brain activity while participants inflicted pain and found that obeying orders reduced empathy and guilt related brain activity for the inflicted pain. This may explain why people are able to commit immoral acts under coercion.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news