BAD things are done by bad people. This in a nutshell is the philosophy behind just about all our social, political and religious institutions. The idea that, aside from mental illness and being too young to know better, people are free to choose how to behave and should be judged accordingly is taken for granted pretty much the world over.
Yet things are not that simple, as evidence amassed by psychologists and social scientists shows. The message from this research is that sometimes badness comes from the situation, not the individual. People are far more strongly influenced by those around…
