In 1971, Philip Zimbardo set out to conduct an experiment to observe behavior as well as obedience. In Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment, many dispute whether it was obedience or merely conforming to their predesigned social roles of guards and prisoners that transpired throughout the experiment. Initially, the experiment was meant to test the roles people play in prison environment; Zimbardo was interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards, disposition, or had more to do with the prison environment. This phenomenon has been arguably known to possibly influencing the catastrophic similarities which occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003.The
Nathan Adkins AP Psych 4th Hour October 5th, 2017 Stanford Prison Experiment Dr. Philip Zimbardo wanted to conduct an experiment where he could study the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner/prison guard. The experiment was canceled after only 6 days because it showed to be detrimental to the subjects’ mental health and wellbeing.
The Stanford Prison Experiment was Conducted by Philip Zimbardo and wanted to see the
Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The researchers set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology building, and then selected 20 undergraduate students to play the rolls of the guards and prisoners. The simulated prison included three prison cells that were six by nine foot each. Each cell held three prisoners and included three cots. Other rooms that were across from the cells were made for the prison guards and warden.
Obedience and individuality must have a balance in order for a society to function alls well. According to head researcher and acting warden, Philip G. Zimbardo, the main purpose of The Stanford Prison Experiment would be to study and to understand the roles people develop in prison. In order to discover the roles that humans take in prison environments, Zimbardo would convert the basement of Stanford University into a mock prison. Twenty-four healthy male college students would participate in this experiment; however, half would be acting as prisoners and the latter as guards. This experiment would go on for two weeks to fully analyze the ending result of the mock environment.
Joshua Arredondo Professor Bdaha Psych 001 18 April 2017 Zimbardo’s investigation: Stanford Prison Experiment Critiquing whether the experiments that Zimbardo imposed on the people that were involved was robust or not, it detailed much more information that was suddenly discovered to become a detriment to what his work was implying in doing. Zimbardo’s studies were measured in 1973, where his idea of American prisoners and guards had personalities that were damned to explain why the brutality levels started to increase in the jail institutions. Becoming inevitable with yourself is leading something to believe it’s true and the guards and prisoners were discovering it was certain and how it can conflict with them not respecting how the law
The experiment I chose to research was the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Zimbardo in 1971. Zimbardo wanted to figure out if the brutality in prison was due to the guards or the prisoners. He asked questions such as dose “…the institutional roles of guard and prisoner embitter and harden even compassionate people.” He wanted to know if the people that are within the prison system make the prison violent or dose the prison make these people violent. Zimbardo conducted in experiment where male college students volunteered to play prison in a makeshift prison in the basement of the Stanford phycology department.
After posting an ad in the newspaper, Philip Zimbardo gathered twenty-four college males who lived in the vicinity of Stanford to participant in an experiment, known as the Stanford prison experiment. The ad was misleading to the participants because they did not consent to being arrested at their residence. The experimenter, Zimbardo, tainted his own research by posing as the superintendent of the fictional prison. Later, after the experiment ended abruptly, Zimbardo sat down with the individuals and explained the real aim for the study.
It is often uncomfortable to imagine how cruel we can become under the right circumstances. After all, it is in human nature to nonchalantly assume that one would maintain mental stability and good intentions, no matter the situation. Phillip Zimbardo, a psychology professor at Stanford University, put this innate misconception to the test in a 1972 experiment with college students. Zimbardo received surprising results–to say the least– and it is clear that he was unprepared for the wicked behavior shown after just 24 hours of the simulation. In many ways, he failed to protect the participants from long-lasting effects and trauma.
Stanford Prison Experiment review In order to understand the basic psychology of human aggression, Dr. Zimbardo conducted a research funded by the Office of Naval Research by transforming a basement of the Stanford University to a prison. The purpose of his study was to investigate the change of the people mind from normal to brutal because of the strict rule, regulation, role and social expectation in dehumanising situation such as the prison. He wanted to test his hypothesis, whether it is “dispositional”. For example, if the prisoners and guards did not change their behaviour to aggressive one, the hypothesis was accepted.
For many individuals, they believe that the principle purpose of a prison system is to merely punish these convicts. But, that is not entirely true. Scientists have proved that implementing a retributive-model for the prison system does not aim to better or convalesce negative behaviors, but rather it may be severely damaging to these criminal offenders. A famous psychologist by the name of Philip Zimbardo conducted the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. He was curious to observe the effects of incarceration on select individuals.
In 1971 Dr. Zimbardo a psychologist professor at Stanford University conducted an experiment with 24 college student and recruited them to play the roles of guards and prisoners in a mock prison system. This experience was to gain insight of daily prison life between the guards and the prisoner when one has power, which we be the guards. In on the other hand the prisoner who will be the powerless this was the reason to create a prison environment that would fabricated simulation of a real life prisoners and guards daily activities. Professor Zimbardo fabricated a simulation of a jail by converting the basement of Stanford University to a prison. The 24 male causation college students from various colleges in the United States were evaluation for any abnormalities before the experiment they all were normal and capable to do the experience.
Handfuls of students at Stanford University were quick to respond to a seemingly innocuous newspaper advertisement for a job that promised to pay fifteen dollars a day, an attractive offer for broke college students. Of those who were interested, twenty-four males were selected and deemed mentally and physically healthy. Then, they were each assigned roles as prisoners or guards for a prison simulation held in the basement of Jordan Hall at their university. To most psychology students, this situation sounds quite familiar. Based on Phillip Zimbardo’s 1971 psychology experiment, the 2015 film, The Stanford Prison Experiment, provides a disturbing view into human nature and tendency.
The Stanford Prison Experiment was a psychological study conducted to find out the effects of people assimilating into the roles that they are assigned as well as to find out the effects of imprisonment on the human psyche, even if it was only for a week. The people chosen to participate in the experiment were chosen very carefully; Zimbardo, the man who designed the experiment, made sure that the participants were healthy and had no psychological issues that would mar the results of the experiment or add too many confounding variables to the mix. He randomly split the participants into two groups, 9 guards and 9 prisoners with 3 alternates for each group making a total of 24 people. He kept them in a “prison” and allowed them to have full autonomy over what happened during the experiment.
It can be argued that one of the main reasons for conducting studies that may seem unethical are necessary to dispel idealistic beliefs such as the just-world phenomenon, we may have about the justice system in this case, as well as the influence psychologists may have in correctional facilities. As observed in the Stanford Prison Experiment - a mere simulation involving completely innocent civilians role playing as prisoners and guards, such an intense result prevailed that the experiment had to be prematurely shut down. Furthermore, the experimenter himself got so taken with the experiment that experimenters with a clear and objective view of the experiment realized the distressing effects the experiment was having on the participants. (Wagner, 2007) The concept of obedience to authority was revolutionized following Milgram’s 1963, 1965 and 1974 studies.
