The Stanford Prison Experiment
Philip Zimbardo, a friend of Milgram, and his colleagues designed an experiment that looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. They set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University's psychology building then selected 24 undergraduate students to play the roles of both prisoners and guards and were joined by an additional 70 participants that were selected. The experiments was originally planned to last 14 days but had to be stopped after six because the guards became abusive and the prisoners were showing signs of extreme stress and anxiety.
Stopping the experiment after 6 days was necessary for the safety of the participants but It gave Zimbardo just enough time to collect the data he needed. He observed that the participants assigned to be guards assumed the abusive authoritarian style which is stereotypical of most prison guards. The "prisoners" undergoing the experiment began to become depressed as a result of the harsh treatment the are receiving from the guards. Milgram showed how powerful a role situation can play in human behavior. Because the guard were placed in a position of power then began to behave in a way they normally wouldn't in everyday life. The prisoners who were placed in a situation where they had no power or control and became very passive and depressed. |
I think Milgram should have re conducted the exact same experiment with the same people but placed then in the opposite role that they played before. This would have given proof to how powerful a role in a situation is. If the "prisoners" who were now in power as guards began to abuse the prisoners the way they were treated it would have proved that power can change human behavior.
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