Subscribe to FeedStanford Prison Experiment Video…
In 1971, Dr. Phillip Zimbardo conducted a controversial experiment to test humans’ behavioral responses to captivity, i.e. how humans react when placed in varying authoritative and submissive positions within a controlled environment. This experiment became known as “The Stanford Prison Experiment”—the implications of which have both fascinated and frightened the psychiatric community at large for more than three decades. I’ve included the first part of an excellent documentary for you to watch. After viewing this documentary, I’d be curious to know what you think Zimbardo’s experiment teaches us about the human psyche, if any such lesson can be learned within so-called “controlled environments” like Stanford’s make believe prison. Let us know what you think in the comments section. We’ll talk again soon…
Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University
July 9th, 2008 at 8:25 am
WOW! Some experiment. Now, as to what the experiment teaches or doesn’t teach is the ultimate question. It has been 35+ years since that experiment was done. There have been loads of changes in the prison system since the Stanford experiment. So, what happens today when you put good people in a bad situation? Well, there are a lot of factors that affect how that good person will react. For example, I know a person who was an exemplary citizen and that individual ended up serving 2 years in a state facility. That person was considered a model inmate, worked in the law library and when released became heavily involved in criminal law and the justice system. So, I think that how a person reacts to that environment depends a great deal on how their inner psyche has developed. I do not believe that most “good” people will deliberately injure someone simply because a person in authority has told them to do so. I have many examples from a life of military and exposure to criminal inmates that debunk that ideology. But, that is simply my thoughts. GREAT video.
Betty
July 15th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
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