Stanford Prison Experiment/ Dr. Zimbardo Thoughts

Do you think the Stanford Prison Experiment was ethical? Why or why not?

This experiment is fascinating because it shows how humans are creatures of social influence. The layout of the experiment seemed relatively harmless, just like children dressing up and acting the expected roles of parents, children, and pets while playing house. However, the circumstances that developed were unethical because of the prevalence of abuse. It was morally correct to stop the study, and it’s interesting that the experiment stopped after six days when it was supposed to run for two weeks. Judging by the videos, it seems the experiment should have ended even sooner. It was disturbing to hear the prisoners repeatedly yelling, “Prisoner 819 did a bad thing.” A chant like that would be a brainwashing destruction to a person’s self-worth. Additionally, it was disturbing to view how the prisoners had to wear numbered outfits and chains. At first, it seemed like a harmless costume, but it contributed to the destructive effect of the experiment and being labeled by a number rather than a name is dehumanizing. Since the prison guard’s eyes were not visible through their sunglasses, I found that this also contributed to the lack of moral conscience and responsibility on their part.  

            I was bothered by how quickly the people who were given the power to be the prison guards quickly morphed into their authoritarian roles and took advantage of their position by yelling, belittling, and demeaning. A man who was a guard said he’d never yelled or felt so upset in his life and that it was an experience of being out of control. It’s morally challenging to fathom why he chose to become intoxicated with rage and power, but I imagine he was fulfilling what he deemed his social obligations were as the role of a prison guard. We have all had enough exposure to the media to know what prison is supposed to be like, and these people manifested their expectations.

            It is interesting that Dr. Phillip Zimbardo wanted to study if people’s morals and values could rise above a negative environment. I would have hoped that they would, but when social pressures and power take over in an uncontained environment, it is difficult or impossible to rise above the forceful oppression. It is intriguing how Dr. Zimbardo describes the interplay of a person’s disposition, the circumstances of a situation, and the cultural, political, economic, etc. dynamics. It is also intriguing that Dr. Zimbardo has coined a term, The Lucifer effect, for this phenomena and how he seeks to explain that anyone can be “kind or cruel, caring or indifferent, creative or destructive, and a villain or hero.”Sadly, his research is also supported through the occurrences at Abu Ghraib.