Marianne Szegedy-Maszak’s “The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: Sources of Sadism” and Dr. Zimbardo’s “The Stanford Prison Experiment” are not considered extremely recent; still they retain relevance and applicability today. Szegedy-Maszak proposes that the Abu Ghraib scandal possesses three key aspects conducive to a torture driven environment: authorization, routinization, and dehumanization. Szegedy-Maszak attempts to provide an explanation for the inhumane actions of American soldiers toward Iraqi prisoners. In attempting to determine the origins and requirements necessary for a human being to execute evil atrocities, Marianne Szegedy-Maszak focuses on the impact authorization exhibits to cause human beings to allow the power of situation to
…show more content…
Zimbardo’s account of the Stanford Prison experiment provides his intent to determine whether the power of the situation or another unknown variable sourced report of brutality in prisons. The Stanford prison experiment allowed Zimbardo to embark on a six-day prison experiment to determine the control a prison environment possesses over the human psyche. Zimbardo examines the power of situations to alter ordinary men into sadistic machines, and Szegedy-Maszak provides a logical explanation for heinous actions; however, Zimbardo and Szegedy-Maszak fail to factor in individual responsibility and the perils of dehumanization. Both Szegedy-Maszak and Zimbardo agree that certain situations maintain the power to turn ordinary people into monsters or sadists. Szegedy-Maszak states that the feelings and turmoil of the soldiers were “exacerbated by difficult living conditions and constant danger” (Szegedy-Maszak 76). Zimbardo’s results proved that seemingly decent people maintained the ability to allow situational authority to transform them. Doctor Ira Hyman, Ph.D. believes “You do not have to search for villains to find people to commit atrocities. Evil is not always a characteristic of the person” (Hyman). …show more content…
Szegedy-Maszak identifies dehumanization as one of the essential components to sustain an environment with torture. Zimbardo stripped away any remnant of individual identity in both the guards and inmates. Szegedy-Maszak states, “In Vietnam the enemy became ‘slopes,’ and in Iraq they’re ‘towel heads’” (Szegedy-Maszak 77). Zimbardo himself states, “We promoted anonymity by seeking to minimize each prisoner’s sense of uniqueness and prior identity.” The guards also wore the exact same clothing, and prisoners addressed every guard in an identical manner. Zimbardo and Szegedy-Maszak both logically address the dangers dehumanizing others lead to through statistics, research, and real-life examples. Zimbardo unfairly attributes the reactions of the subjects to their environment, rather than the dehumanizing actions the guards adopted as they asserted an authoritative position. Zimbardo illogically failed to address the reason some guards experienced disappointment when the experiment ended, and saw—what morphed into real-life for the prisoners—as a game. In Escape from Camp 14 Blaine Harden delves into the dehumanizing tactics utilized by guards in North Korea’s most notorious prison camp. Guards forced prisoner to betray each other and treated them below human consideration. Provided the proper situation, Zimbardo’s subjects dehumanizing their inmates could very well behave as
Zimbardo’s account of the Stanford Prison experiment provides his intent to determine whether the power of the situation or another unknown variable sourced report of brutality in prisons. The Stanford prison experiment allowed Zimbardo to embark on a six-day prison experiment to determine the control a prison environment possesses over the human psyche. Zimbardo examines the power of situations to alter ordinary men into sadistic machines, and Szegedy-Maszak provides a logical explanation for heinous actions; however, Zimbardo and Szegedy-Maszak fail to factor in individual responsibility and the perils of dehumanization. Both Szegedy-Maszak and Zimbardo agree that certain situations maintain the power to turn ordinary people into monsters or sadists. Szegedy-Maszak states that the feelings and turmoil of the soldiers were “exacerbated by difficult living conditions and constant danger” (Szegedy-Maszak 76). Zimbardo’s results proved that seemingly decent people maintained the ability to allow situational authority to transform them. Doctor Ira Hyman, Ph.D. believes “You do not have to search for villains to find people to commit atrocities. Evil is not always a characteristic of the person” (Hyman). …show more content…
Szegedy-Maszak identifies dehumanization as one of the essential components to sustain an environment with torture. Zimbardo stripped away any remnant of individual identity in both the guards and inmates. Szegedy-Maszak states, “In Vietnam the enemy became ‘slopes,’ and in Iraq they’re ‘towel heads’” (Szegedy-Maszak 77). Zimbardo himself states, “We promoted anonymity by seeking to minimize each prisoner’s sense of uniqueness and prior identity.” The guards also wore the exact same clothing, and prisoners addressed every guard in an identical manner. Zimbardo and Szegedy-Maszak both logically address the dangers dehumanizing others lead to through statistics, research, and real-life examples. Zimbardo unfairly attributes the reactions of the subjects to their environment, rather than the dehumanizing actions the guards adopted as they asserted an authoritative position. Zimbardo illogically failed to address the reason some guards experienced disappointment when the experiment ended, and saw—what morphed into real-life for the prisoners—as a game. In Escape from Camp 14 Blaine Harden delves into the dehumanizing tactics utilized by guards in North Korea’s most notorious prison camp. Guards forced prisoner to betray each other and treated them below human consideration. Provided the proper situation, Zimbardo’s subjects dehumanizing their inmates could very well behave as