Simulation Of Prison Life: The Stanford Prison Experiment

Prisons were designed to work as an avenue where criminals can carry out their rehabilitation process away from law-abiding citizens. To act as a guide in that process, wardens and guards were introduced. In theory, prisoners and guards should have no conflict. However, each of their respective work descriptions are encumbered by certain stereotypical aspects that portray them as being either inherently good or bad. In 1971, Stanford University created a simulation of prison life. The experiment consisted of a uniform group of 24 males that were aimlessly divided into two groups — guards and prisoners (Maher 2015). On the sixth day, the experiment was terminated because there were concerns that the prisoners’ wellbeing was in jeopardy (Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 2014). Needless to say, the group of guards took their roles to the extreme, fulfilling the stereotypical relationship between prisoner and guard. Even thirty years after the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE), the same theme of human corruption is still being documented. Similar to the SPE, the roles of superior and inferior are central to the various acts of torture inflicted on detainees in Abu Ghraib. For instance, the people …show more content…
However, after getting such unexpected results, the study is now seen as a model for demonstrating how people conform to the standards of their environment through impressionability and obedience (Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 2014). This leads many to question whether people are innately corrupt, or if the environment in which they’re placed leads them to corruption. In short, the question can be summed up by referencing the conflict of nature versus nurture. Admittedly, there are numerous arguments for either side, but the causation of human behavior is best explained by examining the elements of nurture: personal, social, cultural, and political