Question

Write an overall reflection of Zimbardo’s experiment. What did you think about what you saw? What was your reaction to the behaviors? Etc.

What are your thoughts about the guard “John Wayne”? Why did he act so sadistically? Why did the other guards let him lead that way? Why did the prisoners obey him if this was all pretend? What kind of transformations did the prisoners take on throughout the act of humiliation and degradation? Explain.

Prisoner 8612 played the role of the crazy prisoner; Prisoner 416 claimed to lose his identity and totally submerge in the role of prisoner; Sarg was an obedient prisoner. Why do some rebel, while others are submissive? John Wayne was a sadistic guard. Why? Do all have the ability to be sadistic? Is it human nature? How far do people go?

What is identity? Is there a core to your self-identity independent of how others define you? How difficult would it be to remake any given person into someone with a new identity?

Explain why this study was unethical. Give specific examples.

How does this experiment relate to the real world? What in your life would be examples of conforming into assigned roles? What would be examples of conforming to submission or conforming to authority? What are some real-world examples that would compare with the prison guard/prisoner relationship? Explain how and why. How does this experiment tie into the Right Answer myth and Group think?

Answer 1

The Stanford prison experiment by Philip Zimbardo in 1971 aimed at analyzing the behvioral alterations which occur with respect to the situational variables or by specific roles and the circumstances pertaining to that. The experiment aimed to find out the change in behavior of individuals when placed in a stimulated environment. Overall it can be said that the experiment gave insightful evidence on how environment and situation can have a successful influence on even dispositional factors. The results gave a solid evidence of how the situational factors are important influencers of human behaior, for the volunteers who had become prisoners, became extremely stressed and anxious while the guards became abusive and overly authoritative, while performing their characters. Situational temptations became overpowering and the desire to practice power and dominance overpowered morality and decency. The passivity and sad state to which the volunteers who had become prisoners succumbed and the authority and dominance that the volunteer guards showed in the experiment, clearly demonstrates that SITUATIONS PLAY EXTREMELY ROLE IN ALTERING HUMAN BEHAVIORS and position, power, situation, circumstances an even influence or overpower the morality and basic dispositional traits of an individual.

John Wyne might have internalised his role of prisoner guard to strongly, exhibiting his sadistic tendencies and as far as the case of other guards is concerned, it might be called as a case of obedience, group conformity, group polarisation on the thought of practicing power to the fullest on the prisoners. The guards throughout the experiment became more and more aggressive, sadistic, authoritative nd dwelled deeper into their assigned roles, enjoying the newfound power role they had obtained, for at the end of experiment, the guards were found to be sad about the termination of the experiment.

The answer to why some individuals are obedient while some are not lies in the aspect of individual differences and personality dispositions. The ways of expressing one's resentment or unacceptable attitude is something strongly linked to one's dispositions.

John Wayne being sadistic and the extent to which a person can become sadistic lies in the idea of human behavior being a complex amalgamation of varied kinds of emotions, thoughts and feelings. Under specific position, or circumstance where one might find a free space to express a particular behvaior, the ego might provide a clear passage to expression o the specific behavior. Moreover in such situations it was easier to act so as there was less chance of being accountable as they knew that it was an experiment and also it was easy to act under deindividuation.