Stanford Prison Experiment Essay - 1150 Words

When put into an authoritative position over others, is it possible to claim that with this new power individual(s) would be fair and ethical or could it be said that ones true colors would show? A group of researchers, headed by Stanford University psychologist Philip G. Zimbardo, designed and executed an unusual experiment that used a mock prison setting, with college students role-playing either as prisoners or guards to test the power of the social situation to determine psychological effects and behavior (1971). The experiment simulated a real life scenario of William Golding’s novel, â€Å"Lord of the Flies† showing a decay and failure of traditional rules and morals; distracting exactly how people should behave toward one another. This†¦show more content†¦To ensure to have satisfactory results in his study, Zimbardo required some preconditions. One of which was the period of time for the experiment to be conducted. He believed that one-to-two weeks woul d be essential in â€Å"providing our research participants with sufficient time for them to become fully engaged in their experimentally assigned roles of either guards or prisoners. Having [our] participants live in that setting day and night, if prisoners, or work for long eight-hour shifts, if guards, would also allow sufficient time for situational norms to develop and patters of social interaction to emerge, change and become crystallized† (Zimbardo, 2013). Other preconditions he had were the mentalities of his volunteers; are they â€Å"normal,† healthy mentally and physically, are they without any prior history of conviction or drug usage? Some other preconditions were to make the experimental setting bear a resemblance as closely to a functional simulation of the psychology of imprisonment as humanly possible. He also wanted to make sure that there was the absence of any earlier indoctrination in how to play the randomly assigned roles; to leave that up to eac h participant’s prior societal teachings of the meaning of prisons and the behavioral scripts associated with the oppositional roles (Zambardo, 2005). Although he had a significantly large abundanceShow MoreRelatedA Experiment On Stanford Prison Experiment984 Words   |  4 PagesStanford Prison Experiment was a study that was conducted to determine the psychology of imprisonment. It was a simulation experiment that was carried out at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. This has been dubbed as the classical psychological experiment regarding prisoners and even explains the prisoner abuse that was meted to the poor Muslim prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Cuba. The research questions were to know whether evil prevailed over humanity or whether humanity was suppressed byRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiment1006 Words   |  5 PagesCharlie Parrish Mrs. Gumina English III, Hr. 4 18 March 2015 Introduction The Stanford Prison experiment was conducted in 1971, during the summer, at Stanford University. The mastermind behind the experiment was Philip G. Zimbardo, a psychologist and a professor at Stanford University. To help closely simulate a prison environment they called upon an expert. â€Å"Our study of prison life began, then, with an average group of healthy, intelligent, middle class males† (Zimbardo 4). With this group ofRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiment : A Experiment890 Words   |  4 PagesThe Stanford Prison Experiment has been one of great controversy since it took place in 1971. Originally established to observe and record the psychological effects the criminal justice system has on prisoners and guards, the experiment went awry due to the neglect of Zimbardo, the scientist holding the experiment. The Stanford Prison Experiment or SPE consisted of 18 students and 6 alternatives recreating regular prison life by being randomly assigned the roles of prisoner a nd guard. Due to hisRead MoreStanford Prison Experiment : Stanford Jail Experiment Essay714 Words   |  3 PagesNathan Mariano Estepa September 13, 2015 Stanford Prison Experiment Zimbardo decided to run an experiment where he would turn a basement under the Stanford campus into a mock prison where he would interview several participants where they would randomly get assigned either guard, or prisoner. Zimbardo aimed to see how everyone pertained the roles they were placed in. Interviewing 75 potential participants, Zimbardo only chose 24 male college students which they received payments of $15/day. TheyRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiments1627 Words   |  7 PagesMollie Herrick Professor Ronnfeldt WRC 1013, 0B2 September 26, 2014 The Stanford Prison Experiments The Stanford Prison Experiments, which happened over forty years ago, showed how power, and being powerless, would change and affect a person to do things they wouldn’t normally do. The experiment was started to show what being in the situation of prison would do to a person psychologically. â€Å"I wanted to know who wins -- good people or an evil situation -- when they were brought into direct confrontation†(ZimbardoRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiment1658 Words   |  7 Pagesimportant issues today. The Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted over 40 years ago, brought these ethical issues into the limelight and remains one of the most controversial studies in the history of studying human behavior. This paper aims to define ethics, describe risk/benefit ratio, provide a brief background on the Stanford Prison Experiment, and evaluate the impact it has had on psychological research. â€Æ' The Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford Prison Experiment probably tops a lot of listsRead MoreStanford Prison Experiment905 Words   |  4 PagesThe Stanford Prison Experiment California State University, Long Beach The Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford Prison Experiment is a very thought-provoking topic discussed in various classes. Professor and psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted this experiment through Stanford University. Twenty-four men were randomly selected to participate in a simulated prison environment and were given roles as prisoners or prison guards. This was done to challenge the moral compass of â€Å"good† individualsRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiment1902 Words   |  8 PagesThe Stanford prison experiment was conducted at Stanford University on August 14th through August 20th in 1971, by a team of researchers headed by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. This experiment used college students and was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were both very interested in this particular experiment due to the many violent outbreaks and conflicts between military guards and prisoners. In 2010 Hollywood produced a movie on the events ofRead MoreThe Stanfor d Prison Experiment At Stanford University1239 Words   |  5 Pagesstudent at Stanford University in California. Like most college kids, you are strapped for cash, so you begin to seek a part time job. You see an ad for a psychology study that pays $15 per day posted in the local newspaper, and decide to submit an application. Little do you know at the time, that the study you are applying for will become known worldwide and create such an impact that it remains relevant over 44 years later. This infamous study is known today as the Stanford Prison Experiment. The experimentRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiment : Stanford University1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe Stanford Prison Experiment On the morning of August 17, 1971, ten men were arrested from their homes in the Palo Alto area, each with charges of burglary and theft. They were taken to the local police station where they were booked, fingerprinted, blindfolded, and transported to the Stanford Prison - also known as the Psychology department at Stanford University. Not even Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the experiment that would shape the field of psychology for years to come, could