Philip Zimbardo

situational forces are more powerful than we think, or that we acknowledge, in shaping our behavior in many contexts.

A large body of evidence in social psychology supports the concept that situational power triumphs over individual power in given contexts

leader and conforming to the norms of the gang

greed, the strong desire for wealth or power over another.

For Dante, the sins that spring from that root are the most extreme "sins of the wolf," the spiritual condition of having an inner black hole so deep within oneself that no amount of power or money can ever fill it.

It is the opposite of the concept of caritas, which means envisioning oneself as part of a ring of love in which each individual self has worth in itself but also as it relates to every other self.

What cupiditas means is the desire to turn into oneself or take into oneself everything that is "other" than self. For instance, lust and rape are forms of cupiditas, because they entail using another person as a thing to gratify one's own desire; murder for profit is also cupiditas.

Do we give insufficient attention to the outer determinants of our thoughts, feelings, and actions? To what extent are we creatures of the situation, of the moment, of the mob?

I will ask you to reflect upon three issues: How well do you really know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses? Does your self-knowledge come from reviewing your behavior in familiar situations or from being exposed to totally new settings where your old habits are challenged? In the same vein, how well do you really know the people with whom you interact daily: your family, friends, co-workers, and lover?

Our nature can be changed, whether toward the good or the bad side of human nature.