Please click on this link to read about one of the most controversial experiments of our time: The Stanford prison experiment. Read meticulously, as some of the most fascinating (and disturbing) elements of this experiment are in the little details.
When you have finished reading, I'd like you to use the blog to respond to what you have read. I'm not going to give you guiding questions this time; instead, I'd like you to ask your own questions and offer your own, authentic responses. Tomorrow in class we will be connecting this experiment to The Crucible.
Remember that the blog is space to have a conversation, so read others' comments, respond to others' questions, and react to others' reactions. Please respond at least once before midnight on Thursday.
24 comments:
I think this experiment showed that once people are put in a position of total power, they tend to abuse it. The gaurds in this experiment were really brutal and completly took advantage of they power, even though the power wasn't technicly real. It also shows that once power is obtained, it is hard to give up. The gaurds asking for extra shifts for no extra pay shows the only reson they wanted to take those shifts was to use their power. It kinda makes me wonder if anyone with that kind of power would abuse it. I think that most people would because you have total controll over everything and I think that everyone wants to have controll in one way or another.
To start off this experiment reminds me off the movie SAW in some ways. However what was done here was wrong. I understand the need to maybe gain knoledge on a subject that might be contriversial but this was over the edge. I do agree with what ben said how once someone has power they will abuse it. In almost any case I beleif that it is possible for someone with poiwer to do so. Power is like an addiction to a drug, once you start you can't stop. Those guards were addicted to the power they had.
i think this experiment shows how people respond to total power. i agree with ben in that the guards who wanted to work overtime without pay only opted to do so due to the fact that they dont have it anywhere else. i also think that the fact that the inmates who gave up their blankets prove that it is human nature to help others, but that there are always those few individuals who are incredibly selfish.
I agree with what Eric this reminded me of Saw. It reminded me of how in the movie the people being tortured were only being tortured because they had wronged a certain man somehow and he was doing this also because he liked to watch how the people would change their ways through being tortured. And the guards remind me of the man in the movie who would torture them. Their doing the same thing basically because the guards wanted extra shifts but not extra pay, that was so they could do what they were doing and get the feel of power. And the man was torturing people to see how they changed and he enjoyed it as well which was the similarity.
The experiment was set up as to create an unfamiliar environment for the guards and prisoners. The guards, who had been determined to be stable, soon went about torturing the prisoners. Like Ben said the guards enjoyed the power and would work for free. In the article it stated that the experiment is used to illustrate cognitive dissonance. In layman’s terms old beliefs contradict a new attitude or action, causing the guards to modify their values. So my questions is did the situation cause the guards to create new beliefs or was the darker side their human nature finally surfacing?
I agree with Mike and Ben. People who get to much power attend to use their power for bad instead of good. I think this experiment show how the world can have so much evil in it. I think when one of the inmates gave up his blanket show that he has a kind heart and their will always be good in the world.
First, this experiment greatly disturbed me. It seemed to go to great lengths to show how when power is obtained, it can be abused so easily. It is as well very addicting to have. But in response to this, it can turn people into better people, but what I want to know is, when these people turn out to be "helpful", is it truly their honest selves? Or, are they just doing that because of the power that's dominating them.
I agree and disagree with eric. First of all, the experiment shows the people put in a situation with hospitable living conditions and then showing how they deal with these challenges. The first wrong in the experiment like has been said by most people that volunteers not given any power and thinking they can boss around other volunteers for a little mind experiment. It is wrong and should have never been allowed to get out of hand. It's no wonder people in this experiment came out with physicological problems.
I beleive that what this experiment showed was how fragile the human mind is when abbused and utterlly confused. the human physcoligy of this experiment was unbalanced and unatural, but there are many things in this world that are very unatural. Living in normal society is somewhat balanced; power, knowladge, vioce and expression all are things that are constantly changing and are very fragile. The darkness and unpridictability of the human physce are highlighted. This is remenecent to the hystaria that occurs in Salem and it showes how abbsolutly possible it is to have this happen in our world, even now and in the fitire. It is part of the human spirit and mind.
I agree with what Ben said. When people are given that much power it is hard to control and as he said give up. It is hard to read that the guards were asking for extra shifts because they wanted the money and the power so badly. The guards didn't care at all about the people who had to be the prisoners angian they just wanted the power. It reminds me of all of the military leaders you hear about like alexander the great, who couldn't ever get enough there always had to be more. This experiment should have been controled better. It was wrong of tthe gurads to abuse their power and cause mental damage to the prisoners. Philip Zimbardo went to far with his experiment. Humans well being come before experiments and Zimbardo forgot this. Like eirc sid it is understandible to want to learn more about the topic but this was to far. Answering lyndsey's question I think that the darker side of the gaurds came out. It seems like the gaurds were in denial about what they were really doing. Overall a didn't agree at all with the reasoning behind parts of this experiment.
I agree with most people when it comes to the idea of power. Power can make people do great things but it can also make a person cruel and disgusting. This experiment shows how people would react in a time of crisis. Abusive power is common in many different ways. It's amazing how many victims allow themselves to stay in the state of powerlessness. The guards let themselves become abusive and the prisoners let themselves to stay the victim. In the end, the idea of power is all psychologically.
I agree with Mckenzie's thought that the powerful saty in control and the weak continue to be abused and not put up a fight. I thought it was interesting that it was follwed by the Abu Ghraib prision story because that wasn't a set experiment. My question would've been "why didn't they prisoners fight back, especially once #416 came in?". However, I think it's because we are taught as kids to respect authority and it's easier to simply "fal into line". Zimbardo certainly acheived his goal of eliminating individuality.
I agree with bene and eric on how the power in this experiement was abused and is kind of an obsession. I think that the guards abused the power and their authority by abusing the prisoners and making their own desicions. I think that this experiment was done all wrong and it sould have been handled in a different way. My question is do you think that people strive and long for a kind of power and are willing to do anything to maintain that power?
It's very obvious that when people become powerful, and when they realize the power they have, they use it to their advantage, which often causes problems. Most of the time, people with power don't use it in good ways, but in bad ways. It may be because its overwhelming, or maybe just their mindset. If everybody used their power in a good sense, I think the world would be a completely different place than it is today. When powerful people do things like this experiment, it causes a trend.
I think the critisism for this experiment of being unethical and unscientific is completely uncalled for; this experiment shows the true nature of humans and how their minds function when they are given an opportunity to control something. I agree with what everyone said about power being something that is hard to let go of, power is what sends most people into a primal state if mind.
I think that the experiment should have never occurred in the beginning. However, I believe that through this experiment it shows how quickly people can change and go against people who they normally wouldn't as long as it meant being on top. Also, I think that through this experiment it displayed how people want to have power and be in control and they will do anything to get that power and maintain it.
I agree with Ben because i think that if you have a lot of power you would abuse it, and you would start using it for bad. Also i agree with what Hannah L said because i also think its weird that the guards wanted to have more shifts for the power.
I agree with Eric, it does remind me of SAW, not the movie, but the idea/ moral( if there is one) behind saw. The power that people are given sometimes aren't used for the right reasons. People take power to new levels everyday, in good and bad ways. An example of a bad way power was taken was Hitler. He was a man who changed the meaning of power and control. This experiment reminded me more of Hitler because the guards were the ones in control, they were the ones in charge of every little detail, even if things went wrong.
I agree with Ben, when people obtain power it is hard to let go of. But i also think it has to do with the way you obtain power. Example: If someone who has earned a privilege or a right they are usually given so power or control of something new, thats a positive power. But if someone wants to hurt others or something just so they have some sort of control, thats a bad thing.
The story takes an experiment with slaves where they torcher and brutally hurt and i think that its a terrible thing is because even if you want things your way and you have the power doesn't mean that you have to make them suffer. Its as if, what happens if you were in there shoes, how you feel and for the guards, to earn more money, for power and wealth...
There seems to be an underlying meaning to this article in my opinion. Much like what Ben said people tend to be unable to handle the power that is given to them. Its almost as if it were some kind of mental drug that gives the guards some kind of satisfaction. Once people get it it, it is hard to put down. But the guards had been very aggressive and made the prisoners do demoralizing things. In my opinion it was the guards that were the true criminals in this jail house, not the prisoners.
Why did they only pick 24 white guards? did doing this affect the conclusion of the experiment?
Did they pick the muslin clothing to show inferiority to the white prison guards?
This experiment was very interesting to me. It shows how maluable the human mind is. When put under enough stress, you can and you will believe anything. When the "prisoners" were offered to leave, they didn't because they honestly believed that they were inmates. This is almost exactly like the Salem witch trials. People thought the devil was walking the earth and their bodies and souls were controlled or possessed by it.
Could paranoia be the actual culprit of the Salem Witch Trials?
I agree with Mckenzie and what she said about abusive power. I think that often times, when people are given power, they tend to take it too far and become it becomes abusive. In the Stanford Experiment, it was hard for me to imagine the prision situation having such a profound affect on the people involved. The actions of the guards especially confused me because even though the experiment didn't last long, they took it too far and even started taking more, unpayed shifts and they tried to get the experiment moved into a real prison because the staged jail wasn't realistic enough. It brought out their desire for complete control. I think being placed into this situation brought out the true personalities of the people involved.
this experiment actually was kind of appalling to me because of the way people treat other people when they have a certain amount of power. I think that these people put these prisoners in another state of mind because they would torture the prisoners and would take extra shifts for free just so they can beet the prisoners. the people had to go through therapy i mean they went through some serious stuff so i can only imagine what they were going through. So i think giving somone a certain amount of power they will or can abuse it.
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