The Social Psychological Effects Of The Stanford Prison Experiment

Superior Essays
Stanford Prison Experiment

What prevented "good guards" from objecting or countermanding the orders from tough or bad guards?
The good guards were unable to object or countermand the bad guards because of the fear of what it would do to the guards’ authoritative role in the eyes of the prisoners. If they showed disunity as guards the prisoners could take advantage of the unstructured and create chaos within the walls of the prison. By objecting to the bad guards, they take the risk of the prisoners not taking the guards orders seriously. There is also something called the bystander effect which is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to situations in which individuals do not offer help to a victim when other people are present.
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It would take quite a bit of time to get used to being called by their names again and have their lives become more normalized. After the kind of abuse they endured, they could have some post-traumatic stress and self-esteem issues from all the humiliation they endured. I think that they should have found better ways to stimulate prison life in order to create a safe environment for the research to be observed. Their study should have had more research done prior to the experiment; so they could have a better idea of what the prisoners are going through and how to handle each issue as it arose. There should have been more medical staff on the scene to make sure the participants when in a state of good health to continue the experiment.
The punishments they used where unethical and cruel. One of the worst punishments I read in the article was that the guards could limit the prisoners bathroom uses causing them to smell like urine and feces. This tactic was used to degrade the prisoners, but it could cause many health risks because of the germs in fecal matter. Another unethical punishment was not feeding the participants, this could cause strain on the body and frustration between prisoners. Because some were rewarded with food and the others had to watch. So in conclusion, I do not believe this study was ethical or worth
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This would keep the prisoners in a better mood because they would be getting the proper amount of nutrition needed to be a functional member of the prison. Studies also show that certain vitamins help keep a stabilized mood which could help keep violence down in the prison. Exercise is also very important as it helps keep the body in good physical shape and it’s also shown to improve mood and help fight of depression so frequent exercise is good for keeping the prison population happy. I would also recommend for every prison to have a garden so the prisoners could grow their own food which would help keep prison food cost down but it is also a good way to relive

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