Stanford Prison Experiment

            To Zimbardo’s surprise the participants stepped into their roles at a rapid pace, even finding himself to be completely consumed by his role as the prison warden.  During the second day the prisoners sort out to test their boundaries with the guards, and the guards retaliated back by spraying them down with fire extinguishers and stripping the prisoners naked.  They confiscated their beds and deprived them of their bathroom privileges, placed the leader of the rebellion in solitary confinement and set a cell up for the three prisoners with the least involvement in the rebellion; this one cell had beds, which also came with special treatment such as better food and so forth.  The guards flaunted the better treatment to the other prisoners, still without food, clothes, a bed, who had only a single bucket to defecate in.  The next day the privileged prisoners were switched out for the ones mostly involved with the rebellion, giving other prisoners the sense of distrust for their fellow inmates who were now suspected of being informants.  This type of act is used to break down the groups and force each member into solitude.  (Zimbardo, 1999)

            The Stanford Prison Experiment only lasted six days instead of the supposed two weeks, due to the realization of how an individual can be completely consumed by his role.  Prisoners were having mental breakdowns, Guards in their boredom found new innovative as well as sadistic ways to keep the prisoners in line. The prisoners only recognized themselves as their number and complied with any order given, like mindless robots.  Zimbardo, had to call it quits, especially after Cristina Mastack was brought in to conduct interviews with all twenty four participants.  She was shocked and appalled from the treatment the students had endured. (Shuttleworth, 2008)

            In conclusion,  the Stanford Prison Experiment exposed the darker side of human nature, where the guards were given power they exercised their authority to dangerous levels, and the prisoners lost their sense of individuality and both groups demonstrated a moral flexibility.  The power of the roles each participant was assigned to, in their mind became whom they were, their sense of self-degraded either into the monster or into the robotic victim of circumstance.  On a more personal note I would like to say I would not be sadistic if I were a guard nor would I fall victim to their whim as a prisoner.  The truth be told that I assume none of the students who were part of the experiment thought that they would act out the way they did.  I would like to believe I would be fair and firm as a guard and as a prisoner stand up for those being mistreated.  I think that this experiment can teach us a lot about human nature, coercive treatment as well as the little control the prisoners had over the situation.  I can see how this experiment opened people’s eyes to the inner workings of today’s prison as well as the treatment of prisoners.

References

1.      Shuttleworth, M. (2008). Stanford Prison Experiment. Retrieved June 25, 2009, from Experiment-resources.com Web site: http://www.experiment-resources.com/stanford-prison-experiment.html

2.      Zimbardo, P. G. (1999). Stanford Prison Experiment. Retrieved June 25, 2009, from Phillip G. Zimbardo Web site: http://www.prisonexp.org