Pros And Cons Of The Stanford Prison Experiment
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Throughout all of history, psychological experiments have created controversy throughout the world. A specific example of this argument would be what came from the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971. This experiment tested whether brutality shown by prison guards was due to sadistic personalities or the environment of the prison (McLeod, 2008). This experiment is known for its ethical issues displayed towards the men who were involved in the study. Although this experiment caused severe damage to the volunteers, it was a very important study regarding future ethical guidelines in psychological experiments. This will be proven by examining the background, the experiment, and the results of the experiment.
The …show more content…
"People will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as those of the prison guards. The ‘prison’ environment was an important factor in creating the guards’ brutal behavior (none of the participants who acted as guards showed sadistic tendencies before the study). Therefore, the findings support the situational explanation of behavior rather than the dispositional one," (McLeod, 2008). This study also led to the creation of ethical guidelines. This made it illegal, pretty much, to treat people in an inhumane way such as Zimbardo’s experiment. This experiment brought to light the effects of taking an experiment too far.
There are both and pros and cons to all psychological experiments. This is especially applicable to the Stanford prison experiment. This experiment was known for its mistreatment and dehumanization toward the volunteers. Though this ultimately led to the creation of ethical guidelines and showed social psychologists that situation contributes to a person’s behavior. Zimbardo truly changed how people think about psychological experiments with The Stanford Prison Experiment of
Throughout all of history, psychological experiments have created controversy throughout the world. A specific example of this argument would be what came from the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971. This experiment tested whether brutality shown by prison guards was due to sadistic personalities or the environment of the prison (McLeod, 2008). This experiment is known for its ethical issues displayed towards the men who were involved in the study. Although this experiment caused severe damage to the volunteers, it was a very important study regarding future ethical guidelines in psychological experiments. This will be proven by examining the background, the experiment, and the results of the experiment.
The …show more content…
"People will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as those of the prison guards. The ‘prison’ environment was an important factor in creating the guards’ brutal behavior (none of the participants who acted as guards showed sadistic tendencies before the study). Therefore, the findings support the situational explanation of behavior rather than the dispositional one," (McLeod, 2008). This study also led to the creation of ethical guidelines. This made it illegal, pretty much, to treat people in an inhumane way such as Zimbardo’s experiment. This experiment brought to light the effects of taking an experiment too far.
There are both and pros and cons to all psychological experiments. This is especially applicable to the Stanford prison experiment. This experiment was known for its mistreatment and dehumanization toward the volunteers. Though this ultimately led to the creation of ethical guidelines and showed social psychologists that situation contributes to a person’s behavior. Zimbardo truly changed how people think about psychological experiments with The Stanford Prison Experiment of