The Official Torturer: A Learning Model for Obedience to the Authority of Violence

  1. Mika Haritos-Fatouros*

Article first published online: 31 JUL 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1988.tb01196.x

Issue

Journal of Applied Social Psychology

Journal of Applied Social Psychology

Volume 18, Issue 13, pages 1107–1120, October 1988

Additional Information

How to Cite

Haritos-Fatouros, M. (1988), The Official Torturer: A Learning Model for Obedience to the Authority of Violence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18: 1107–1120. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1988.tb01196.x

Author Information

  1. University of Thessaloniki

*1 Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Dr. Mika Haritos-Fatouros, Department of Psychology, The University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 31 JUL 2006
  2. Article first published online: 31 JUL 2006

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The military training and selection procedures leading to the behavior of a torturer are discussed. The analysis is based on testimonies of army police servicemen at the first torturers' trial in Greece and on the interviews of ex-military policemen who served under the military dictatorship in Greece (1967–1974). It is concluded that, given the appropriate training condition, any individual is a potential torturer, and a model for obedience to the authority of violence is proposed.

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