The Psychology of Looting

Sept. 2, 2005 — -- Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, and there have been few places in America more desperate -- or increasingly lawless -- than New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

The images of Katrina's wrath have varied in the days since the hurricane ripped through the Gulf Coast and ravaged The Big Easy. People have been seen standing on the rooftops of their submerged homes, holding signs that say, "Help Us"; authorities have reported seeing bodies floating in the water and corpses rotting in the streets amid concerns of an outbreak of disease; displaced, dehydrated Katrina survivors have been transferred from evacuation shelters in Louisiana's Superdome to a temporary new home in Houston's Astrodome.

And there has been looting and lawlessness, from residents taking food, diapers and other necessities from abandoned grocery stores to people lugging TV sets and beer in areas not submerged in dirty floodwater. New Orleans appeared to descend into anarchy, with reports of rapes in the Superdome and local law enforcement officials not showing up to combat arson, gunfire and carjackings in the streets.

The promise of the dispersion of 10,000 additional National Guard troops to maintain order did little to soothe increasingly angry Katrina victims who have endured the lack of running water, sweltering conditions and stench in the Superdome or otherwise suffered as they waited for authorities to come to their rescue. In these kinds of desperate, and apparently lawless, conditions, experts say people will throw away their normal sense of ethics and do anything to survive.

"When you have a situation as extreme as Katrina, people have lost their sense of security, control, protection and shelter," said David Sattler, associate professor of psychology at Western Washington University. "They fall into basic rules of survival mode. Some feel that they're going to do what they need to do to survive. They're going to do what they need to do to get the basic necessities."

In an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America's" Diane Sawyer, President Bush said there should be a no-tolerance approach to looters.

"I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this, whether it be looting or price gouging at the gasoline pump, or taking advantage of charitable giving or insurance fraud," Bush said. "And I've made that clear to our attorney general. The citizens ought to be working together."