ipl-logo

Essay Comparing The Stanford Prison Experiment And Philip Zimbardo

1182 Words5 Pages

Profound immorality and wickedness, especially when regarded as supernatural force, are the definitions of evil. The forces around you play a part in what you do and how you act. People are naturally good, but the society that we are built around has rules and regulations that we must follow, as if we’re good. The strongest quality of how good people act in bad situations is their position or circumstance. The 1972 Andes Flight Disaster, Phillip Zimbardo’s conclusion to human nature, and the Stanford Prison Experiment show signs of the situation and position a person is in that affect their actions. Humans have a thought in their brain that makes them have the need to survive, no matter what. The 1972 Andes Flight Disaster was a situation where …show more content…

The Stanford Prison Experiment shows people who are put into positions that cause them to act differently from themselves. 12 people are selected for an experiment and randomly split into two groups: 3 guards and 9 prisoners, and they dress them like their roles and give them the gadgets they normally use in that role. “Within a very short time, both guards and prisoners were settling into their new roles, with the guards adopting theirs quickly and easily. Within hours of beginning the experiment, some guards began to harass prisoners. They behaved in a brutal and sadistic manner, apparently enjoying it. Other guards joined in, and other prisoners were also tormented. The prisoners were taunted with insults and petty orders; they were given pointless and boring tasks to accomplish; and they were generally dehumanized. The prisoners soon adopted prisoner-like behavior, too. They talked about prison issues. ”The prisoners assume the roles they are given due to the environment, and so do the guards. They also assume their traits and power to act and do things according to their allotted roles. These guys have seen movies with cops and seen how they act; they were in a position of power and were using them. This situation made them want to be like the guards they'd seen. The effects of being put into situations with a role you’ve seen before you want to copy it to do it right; the situation and information affect your

Open Document