while the submissiveness angle is interesting, the most intriguing/important conclusion of the article is how impelled we are to see ourselves as the "good guys

while the submissiveness angle is interesting, the most intriguing/important conclusion of the article is how impelled we are to see ourselves as the "good guys/girls", and how that's rationalized. time and again, the author comes back to this specific rationalization, including in reference to his bank-robbing cousin and zimbardo himself. when you're trying to understand someone else's "bad" actions, it's important to realize that they don't see themselves as a bad person, that their rational brains will wrap memories around an inherent belief in their own "goodness". that comes from a regular failing in how we narrate our lives into simple categories of "good" and "bad". people make mistakes constantly, and are constantly making up for them. social life is an endless chain of conflict resolution with ourselves as the protagonist.