Zimbardo And The Stanford Prison Experiment

Most people desire some sort of power. Whether it is political power or economic power, this yearning runs our society. Some people use their power to benefit others, and other person inappropriately use their power to degrade and diminish. As explored in the Stanford Prison Experiment, Philip Zimbardo states people change with they are given “power without oversight” (Zimbardo, The Psychology of Evil, TedTalk). Though the students were considered “good apples,” the combination of situation and the system caused the guards to lose their identities and to abuse their power in inhumane ways. The results of the experiment were derived many observations and conclusions about the subjects; however, Zimbardo’s switch between running the experiment
Maslach knew right when she arrived that there was something wrong with this experiment. As she observed, she began to feel intense human emotions of fear, anger, and disgust. Maslach clearly expressed to Zimbardo that he was the reason for these boys’ suffering, reconnecting Zimbardo to his humane side. The movie, The Stanford Prison Experiment, emphasizes Maslach’s emotions during her argument with Zimbardo. As a woman, Maslach immediately notices the humane and emotional aspect of the experiment rather than the logical and scientific, which highlights the difference between men and women. If there a woman was initially a part of this experiment, I feel that the experiment would have been conducted very differently. A woman would not have tolerated any of the abuse and would have put an end to stop it, like Maslach. If it was not for her, the experiment may have gotten even more out of control. Zimbardo describes Maslach as a “heroine” (Zimbardo, The Psychology of Evil, TedTalk). With her influence, a long term effect from this experiment is that Zimbardo now studies the psychology of heroism along with evil. He wants to prevent atrocities simulated in the Stanford Prison Experiment because he has experienced how dangerous this type of environment and system. He hopes to teach that “with great power comes with great
The experiment lacked a controlled, independent variable as Zimbardo lost his identity and kept excusing the guards’ behavior. He lost sight of the real purpose of the experiment and treated the boys as subjects rather than humans. This experiment had numerous errors. Obviously, Zimbardo should not have been switching from being a part of the experiment to just observing. In addition, there should have been more psychologists there from the beginning for Zimbardo to discuss with. It should have not taken until Maslach’s visit for someone to realize this experiment has gone extremely wrong. Personally, I thought this experiment was very out of line and should not have happened. Though I always see the value in scientific testing, but the Stanford Prison Experiment went too far. It unnecessarily dehumanized the prisoners. After the first mental breakdown of the prisoners, the experiment should have ended. The Stanford Prison Experiment did help Zimbardo with understanding the incidents at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, but it seems pretty obvious that “power without oversight” can lead to horrendous events, especially when people lack the guidance and