Bregman has argued that over the past few decades , the human race has made extraordinary strides . “ We are richer , we are healthier , we are wealthier than ever ,” he says , noting that we are also living in the most peaceful of eras . As a result , many are “ starting to arrive at a different , more hopeful view of where we have come from and who we are ”. This view is in stark contrast to the doom-and-gloom we are fed by 24 / 7 news channels , which continue to fuel a negative portrayal of human nature – with dark scientific findings often receiving more air time than positive research .
Negativity sells , but is it accurate ?
“ I have got this whole part in my book where I talk about all the social psychology experiments from the 1960s . We all know them – the Stanford prison experiment , the Milgram experiment – in which subjects were willing to give dangerous electric shocks to innocent people sitting in another room ,” Bregman said in the Science podcast . “ These seem to suggest , or paint a very dark picture of who we are as a species , that civilisation is only a thin veneer and that , just below the surface , we are all savages and capable of really horrible things .”
The Stanford prison experiment , which explored the perceived power struggle between prisoners and prison officials , has been widely taught over the years , but only recently have the findings been put under scrutiny . “ To my mind , it can be described as a hoax ,” says Bregman . “ We now know that this researcher , Philips Zimbardo , specifically instructed his students [ acting as guards ] … to be as sadistic as possible … he needed these results to go to the press and say that prisons are horrible environments and we need to reform the whole prison system in the United States . That is what happened and that is why the study became so famous . And it took 50 years – 50 years – for a French sociologist to go into the archives and find out that something very different happened in reality .”
Humankind is dotted with such examples ; insights and moments in history which define our current thinking , but which are increasingly being debunked .
Another example is the bystander effect , which hypothesises that people do not rush to help one another in the event of a disaster , an accident or a crisis . “ I spoke to Marie Lindegaard , who is a Danish social psychologist ,” explains Bregman . “ They built this huge database of real-life incidents , with real people who were being attacked in the streets , and it turns out that in 90 % of all cases people help each other . And if more people see something happening , then the chance that you will be helped only goes up .”
His conclusion ?
Ultimately , Bregman arrives at a rather paradoxical view of human nature . “ On the one hand we are one of the friendliest species in the whole animal kingdom … but there is a whole dark side to this as well , and the dark side is our tribal behaviour ,” he says , which leads to unspeakable biases , xenophobia and distrust of those who are not part of our group .
Humanity ’ s future , contends Bregman , depends not only on our innate friendliness , but also on those among us who continually challenge the status quo . On an individual level we all have lessons to learn , including the overarching need to see the best in others – even if it means coming off badly in some encounters .
“ There is just so much evidence that kindness is catching ,” stresses Bregman . Sure , this might be a little cheesy , but sometimes a little cheese is just the ticket to remind yourself that small acts can have positive ripples across the world .
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