Beware of doing the right thing!

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One of my regular short cuts to work, has recently been turned in to a one way street. This means, I could take this road in the morning without flouting any laws, but not so in the evening. The alternative route meant adding one more traffic light to the list. I was as pissed off as the next man, so pissed off that I ignored the sign and continued on, as usual. In the absence of cameras and cops, it didn’t take that long to realize that I wasn’t the only one committing this offence every evening.

But it wasn’t the offence that started bothering me later. I soon realized that my attitude changed significantly, every time I drove down this road. In the mornings, when I see drivers in the opposite lane, who were committing the offence, I would drive right in the middle of this narrow road, expecting them to stop and give me right of way. I would also punch them, with my eyes of course, hard enough to knock even Tyson out in the first round. The truth is, I would be committing this same offence, on the same day, just 10 hours later. Now, this is irrational, mean and blatantly stupid behavior. In the guise of a ‘what’s up’ call, I quickly contacted three others who take the same route.

I was relieved to find out that, like me, they too were being horrid to those drivers. It made me think. Can a simple, stupid thing like a traffic sign make us so mean and irrational? Does doing the right thing, like being law abiding, eventually transform us into horrible people? Does it mean that, being righteous would one day lead us to blow ourselves up?

It seems so. This behavior could be well explained with the famous Stanford Prison Experiment. In this study, 24 under graduates were recruited to play the role of prison guards and prisoners in a mock jail. The experiment was supposed to go on for 14 days, but it was stopped after six days, considering how well the respondents assumed the guards’ role and started abusing their fellow respondents in the experiment.

So what happens on the one way road was evident. In the morning, we assume our role of the law abiding citizen so well, that we are horrid to the law breakers. Now this explains why cops are naturally mean, and why some religious fanatics would one day blow themselves up in a crowded bus station. The next time you believe you are doing the right thing, think of what other consequences could ensue because of it.

But don’t be in the wrong lane tomorrow morning!

SilentDog 

 

If you missed my last post click here What Brand Managers can Learn from good parenting