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Who Is To Blame Essay

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Who Is To Blame Essay
Who Is To Blame?
As humans in search of friendship, love, and care we sometimes change ourselves in order to fit in with the people around us. Have you ever caught yourself copying your friends just because you did not want to be made fun of? Humans do not want to feel alone so we follow others even if their actions are wrong. If a person is born and raised in a neighborhood full of criminals that are stealing and killing every day, that person will eventually accept these actions as a way of life. When someone is around only criminal behavior he or she cannot be blamed for not following the accepted moral ways of life. Scientists have performed many experiments and studied real life scenarios concerning the relationship between situation and behavior to find out why good people do bad things. Two strong examples of situations concerning behavior based on context are the Standford Prison Experiment conducted by Phillip Zimbardo and the work of Steven Stefanowicz as a contract interrogator in Abu Ghraib prison. In 1971, Phillip Zimbardo conducted an experiment on prison behavior. This experiment consisted of ordinary college boys who were all emotionally and physically stable. The set up was very realistic allowing the subjects to remain in character. The realistic scenario manipulated the minds of prisoners making them believe they were truly bad people, and guards believed to have the right of intimidation and oppression. These boys were calm in natural surroundings, yet became mischievous and unpredictable when placed in the fake prison and told to act as a guard or prisoner. One of the more notable figures from this experiment was the guard known as John Wayne. John Wayne would punish the prisoners through embarrassment, and harsh physical activity. The prisoners knew it was going to be rough when John Wayne came around. Although the real John Wayne was the complete opposite. When visitor Christina Maslach watched the acts of the infamous John

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