Science and Cruelty

How brains, beliefs, and being human give rise to the horrors of human cruelty.

by Kathleen Taylor

Two children in Edlington

Cruelty to children shocks us. Cruelty by children shocks us too; but neither should surprise us. What's more, there are steps we can take to prevent these worst extremes of cruelty from happening again. Read More

Milgram on TV (follow-up)

Months after I queried it, still no response from the British Psychological Society ... Read More

Antidotes to human nastiness

Human cruelty is disturbing and depressing. How do you cope? Read More

Could we stop killing?

I like to be in America ... to talk about killing? Read More

Creeping up on consciousness

Consciousness remains a mystery. But we may be one step closer to understanding it. Read More

Of microwaves and their effects on brains

Someone, somewhere, is trying to manipulate your brain ... Read More

Has Myra Hindley's successor just been chosen?

Paedophilia: a parent's nightmare; a journalist's dream; a problem desperately needing further research. Read More

Torture research

"Standing isn't torture;. I stand in my office every day." According to some people, death threats, water-boarding or a little light physical abuse aren't torture either. Now a new study shows that in torture it's the context which matters, not whether one specific method is used or not. Bright lights and loud music in a nightclub are not the same as in a prison cell. Read More

Milgram with bugs (II): Thinking and Findings

To get psychology students to kill, first catch your woodlouse Read More

Milgram with bugs (I): the Method

Could you be a killer? Almost certainly yes. Read More

Milgram on TV

Ethics and television ... uneasy bedfellows? Read More

Beyond the Horizon: Michael Portillo on violence

This week, Horizon, the BBC's 'flagship' science programme, considered the brain and violence in an episode featuring ex-Conservative politician Michael Portillo. This is a major national network, communicating the cutting edge of brain research. Expect to be informed? Looking forward to some revelations? (You can see it coming, can't you?) Read More

The grammar of cruelty

The language of cruelty is fascinating. Here's a brief guide. Read More

Of mice and men? Not quite

"Cruelty's something other people do, isn't it?" I can't maintain that comfortable fiction any longer. Read More

On Male and Female: Reply to Taylor

Cruelty -- a male prerogative? Read More

On Love and Hate: Reply to Cindy

When love turns to hate, cruelty can follow. Read More

Why are people cruel?

We've all experienced cruelty. Most of us are lucky; we've survived. Not everyone does, and some victims suffer incomprehensible agonies before they die. How could anyone inflict such tortures? Yet they do. As social neuroscience, driven by the rise of neuroimaging, gains confidence, the question of cruelty may at last begin to find an answer. Read More