The Prison System and Obedience
What has been excluded in prison is your preferred choice and what is supported is obedience. In Individual and Mass Behavior in Extreme Situations by Bruno Bettelheim he talks about imprisonment during the Holocaust and adjustments that the prisoners had to go through in the concentration camps. The author states “The prisoners had reached the final stage of adjustment to the camp situation when he had changed his personality so as to accept as his own the values of the Gestapo…” Therefore it is clear to see that the prisoners endure a lifestyle change in which they have limited choices and behavioral conduct.
When you imprison someone, in a way, it means to take away their choice with a prison structure that …show more content…
This means deliberately exerting competence against others in a purposely physical, mental, or morally traumatizing form. The prison system motivates the worst type of behavior by dehumanizing inmates, basically taking away one's need of belonging and safety. The demand of one to feel like they belong in a group, and safety needs as stability and protection. In the prison system, not achieving the safety and belonging demands can truly effect one's primary needs, or the capacity to attain water and food which are necessary for survival. Inmates join gangs for this very reason. In the article In Texas Prisons, Violence and Racism Reign by Jorge Renaud who is a former inmate for 27 years in Texas prisons explains the process of decreased needs that were again reachable by joining a gang. "Gang bangers, overwhelmingly black and Hispanic, brought their street codes into prison..., and it was visited against Anglos..., and that he could and should be broken by continual, unexpected gang beatings administered regardless of whether he fought back...The unwilling joined white supremacy gangs for protection..." As a response to de humanized prison circumstances, an alliance of the same race join forces. Against the brutality these gangs inflict on white's, security needs are deprived and are only obtainable by doing disturbing things or entering another …show more content…
It has created empires and revolutions, and has destroyed countries and alliances. Some may say it has also had a devastating effect on civilians who have nothing to do with the situation. For example, Hitler and the Jewish holocaust. Hitler made everyone obey his every order and portrayed his evil acts and is the reason for the devastating acts that were caused. A psychology major from Stanford University, Philip Zimbardo, made a very good point and quite and interesting experiment. Zimbardo questioned “to what extent will a person allow themselves to be imprisoned by obeying others commands?” In “The Stanford Prison Experiment”, the professor casually selected 21 normal people to go through with his experiment randomly separating them into guards and inmates. Following the same procedures as in a real prison the inmates had their clothes taken away from them and also their names. Forcing them to wear jumpsuits and each person was given an ID number. The “guards” had symbols of power but did not receive any training and were just given the order to keep the prison in order. Abusing their power they made prisoners do vigorous exercise, cleaning, etc… The guards got so out of hand at one point that they had to replace one of the
What has been excluded in prison is your preferred choice and what is supported is obedience. In Individual and Mass Behavior in Extreme Situations by Bruno Bettelheim he talks about imprisonment during the Holocaust and adjustments that the prisoners had to go through in the concentration camps. The author states “The prisoners had reached the final stage of adjustment to the camp situation when he had changed his personality so as to accept as his own the values of the Gestapo…” Therefore it is clear to see that the prisoners endure a lifestyle change in which they have limited choices and behavioral conduct.
When you imprison someone, in a way, it means to take away their choice with a prison structure that …show more content…
This means deliberately exerting competence against others in a purposely physical, mental, or morally traumatizing form. The prison system motivates the worst type of behavior by dehumanizing inmates, basically taking away one's need of belonging and safety. The demand of one to feel like they belong in a group, and safety needs as stability and protection. In the prison system, not achieving the safety and belonging demands can truly effect one's primary needs, or the capacity to attain water and food which are necessary for survival. Inmates join gangs for this very reason. In the article In Texas Prisons, Violence and Racism Reign by Jorge Renaud who is a former inmate for 27 years in Texas prisons explains the process of decreased needs that were again reachable by joining a gang. "Gang bangers, overwhelmingly black and Hispanic, brought their street codes into prison..., and it was visited against Anglos..., and that he could and should be broken by continual, unexpected gang beatings administered regardless of whether he fought back...The unwilling joined white supremacy gangs for protection..." As a response to de humanized prison circumstances, an alliance of the same race join forces. Against the brutality these gangs inflict on white's, security needs are deprived and are only obtainable by doing disturbing things or entering another …show more content…
It has created empires and revolutions, and has destroyed countries and alliances. Some may say it has also had a devastating effect on civilians who have nothing to do with the situation. For example, Hitler and the Jewish holocaust. Hitler made everyone obey his every order and portrayed his evil acts and is the reason for the devastating acts that were caused. A psychology major from Stanford University, Philip Zimbardo, made a very good point and quite and interesting experiment. Zimbardo questioned “to what extent will a person allow themselves to be imprisoned by obeying others commands?” In “The Stanford Prison Experiment”, the professor casually selected 21 normal people to go through with his experiment randomly separating them into guards and inmates. Following the same procedures as in a real prison the inmates had their clothes taken away from them and also their names. Forcing them to wear jumpsuits and each person was given an ID number. The “guards” had symbols of power but did not receive any training and were just given the order to keep the prison in order. Abusing their power they made prisoners do vigorous exercise, cleaning, etc… The guards got so out of hand at one point that they had to replace one of the