Stanford prison experiment

The “Stanford Prison Experiment” and The Lord of the Flies by William Golding both show just how cruel human beings can be. They also show how humans can react when put in a difficult situation, how the participants’ behavior changes, and how the outcomes from both are similar. The prisoners from the experiment and the children from The Lord of the Flies did not know what was about to happen them. For instance, the prisoners were chosen at random. Just like any other criminal, the prisoners…

The Stanford Prison experiment was not a physical genocide, but a psychological genocide. The prisoners were stuck in the basement all day for 6 days, and both the guards and prisoners lost their morals and individuality. The act of dehumanization also provided the prisoners with fear, anger, and helplessness. Philip Zimbardo was a psychology professor at the University of Stanford. He wanted to operate an experiment that would show how people act in adverse conditions, and the psychological…

In 1971 at Stanford University in northern California, one of America’s most prestigious academic institutions, a well known experiment in the history of psychology took place. This was the stanford prison experiment that was ran by Philip Zimbardo. In this experiment Zimbardo was researching what happens when you put good people in an evil place? How do we respond to authority? Also, does the institution influence a person's behavior or does a person's attitude, values, and morality influence…

The Stanford Prison Experiment was a proposed two-week experiment that turned into a six day nightmare. “The original intent was to study whether the behavior of prisoners and guards was dispositional or situational” (McLeod, 2008). However, what they got out of the experiment was a “situation in which prisoners were withdrawing and behaving in pathological ways” and where some of the guards “were behaving sadistically” (Zimbardo). The Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most controversial…

The Stanford Prison Study Experiment took place from August 14 - 20, 1971. The experiment was held in the basement psychology building of Stanford University, where a fake prison was set up. Professor Philip Zimbardo led the experiment along with fellow graduate researchers, trying to figure out how the humans react to a situation where they a powerless. They picked several white male middle-class students to take part in the experiment. Half of the students were chosen to be “guards” and the…

The Ethical Dilemmas of Dr. Zimbardo`s Stanford Prison Experiment Alexander Claerbaut Michigan Technological University Abstract This paper is about the ethical errors that can be observed in the Stanford Prison Experiment ran by Philip Zimbardo, PhD. This experiment involved Zimbardo randomly assigning college aged volunteers to either play a guard or a prisoner role in a prison simulation. His goal was to discover how human behavior was affected by a bad setting. I will discuss multiple…

Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment is one known for its many positive and negative outcomes, as well as giving an outline of negative ethical practices when conducting a research using humans. However, the process of constructing such an experiment was originally done with good intentions, not expecting those involved to suffer psychological changes. There were two purposes to inspire the conduction of this study. First, researchers wanted to observe what kind of norms will develop in a…

within a prison atmosphere. One event is the Stanford Prison Experiment which is considered a renowned study conducted at Stanford University in California. The other is the Abu Ghraib prison scandal known for its controversy in 2004 surrounding the treatment of its prisoners during their incarceration there. In this paper I will provide details regarding each and ultimately compare how the abuse is similar to or different from what took place in the Stanford Prison Experiment. The Stanford…

The Stanford Prison Experiment: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil By Rawan Farook 16904008 Abstract We tend to think that there are two types of people, the good guys, and the bad guys. Both groups are believed to be born with specific characteristics that make them who they are or defines the way they behave and that whoever is in one category stays there no matter what. However, Dr. Philip Zimbardo didn’t believe so. And accordingly, he conducted an experiment to test the…

In the Stanford Prison Experiment, psychologist Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo acquired a group of volunteers to participate in a prison simulation. This group of college-age boys would go on to become prisoners and guards for two weeks with a payment of $15 a day. However, the experiment quickly became out of control. The prisoners started to break down rapidly due to their lack of sense of time and sudden loss of freedom. Initially, they lashed out at the guards saying how the guards had no real…