Unite Prison Experiment: Questions And Answers
Stanford Prison Experiment
1) What police procedures are used during arrests, and how do these procedures lead people to feel confused, fearful, and dehumanized?
a. Policemen went around the neighborhood to arrest college students from their houses for robbery, burglary, and violation of penal codes. After they were searched, spread against the police car and handcuffed, they brought them to the police station. The guards had worn sunglasses so the suspects wouldn’t be able to look at their eyes, feeling fear. The suspects were confused because they were left blindfolded in the cell to wonder what they’ve done wrong. What left them dehumanized is that they were searched from head to toe and had no way to fight against him, the policeman …show more content…
warned them of their legal rights and had to identify them, forcefully taking their thumbprints to be booked. While in jail, the prisoners were only identified by their ID number and had to shave their heads to minimize their individuality.
2) If you were a guard, what type of guard would you have become?
How sure are you?
a. If I were a guard, I’d want to be a “good guy”. I’d do little favors for them and they wouldn’t shout at me, I’d be the favorable guard and not feel as threatened as the others. I hope that the prisoners wouldn’t treat me as badly as the stricter guards that have “fun” with the prisoners as if they were toys.
3) What prevented "good guards" from objecting or countermanding the orders from tough or bad guards?
a. The guards had different shifts. So the night shift was too lenient and let the prisoners rebel and do whatever they want but when the morning shift arrived, they were mad at how the prisoners disobeyed them. They blamed the night shift but they don’t work together so they have no communication therefore, the good guards can’t be good guards when the bad guards are messing up the prisoners when it’s their shift.
4) If you were a prisoner, would you have been able to endure the experience? What would you have done differently than those subjects did? If you were imprisoned in a "real" prison for five years or more, could you take …show more content…
it?
a. No, I’d never be able to stay in a “real” prison for five years. I wouldn’t have fought back because they have the authority and can do whatever they want to me. I would’ve laid back and just took it. I wouldn’t be able to stay in the prison but I wouldn’t have done what they’ve done.
b.
10) After the study, how do you think the prisoners and guards felt when they saw each other in the same civilian clothes again and saw their prison reconverted to a basement laboratory hallway?
a.
I feel like the prisoners would feel betrayed by their fellow researchers. I would hold a grudge against the guards because they didn’t have to go through that trouble. I don’t believe that the guards felt bad about the prisoners because they’re free now, but the prisoners were starving and treated poorly. I think that the prisoners and the guards both felt relieved that the prison was reconverted to the basement lab because the prisoners have spent horrible days in there; starving, restless, and bathing in their filth. The guards probably were relieved because they didn’t have to stand around and watch over the
prisoners.
11) Moving beyond physical prisons built of steel and concrete, what psychological prisons do we create for ourselves and others? If prisons are seen as forms of control which limit individual freedom, how do they differ from the prisons we create through racism, sexism, ageism, poverty, and other social institutions? Extend your discussion to focus on:
i. The illusion of prison created in marriages where one spouse becomes "guard" and the other becomes "prisoner"
a) When a couple becomes married, they’re devoted to their spouse. One will be an annoying guard and the other will become their prisoner. That just shows how one cares for the other and doesn’t want them to be reckless. The spouse keeps the other in line so he doesn’t get into trouble. I believe that these “prisons” are okay because they revolve on keeping the other safe. ii. The illusion of prison created in neurosis where one aspect of the person becomes the prisoner who is told he/she is inadequate and hopeless, while another aspect serves as a personal guard
b) These illusions are bad because the person is confused about how they feel. A person should have self confidence in themselves and not put themselves down. When one aspect of the person is guarding his actions, it’s good so he doesn’t do things that he’s not physically capable of. It is only bad when the person loses their self-confidence and doesn’t believe that it is worth putting effort into succeeding. iii. The silent prison of shyness, in which the shy person is simultaneously his or her own guard and prisoner
c) A “silent prison of shyness” is bad because this doesn’t allow the prisoner to communicate with others. The person won’t know how to interact with others and won’t have the friends or support that he need to advance.
12) Was it ethical to do this study? Was it right to trade the suffering experienced by participants for the knowledge gained by the research? (The experimenters did not take this issue lightly, although the Slide Show may sound somewhat matter-of-fact about the events and experiences that occurred).
a. I don’t believe that it was ethical to do this study. The prisoners went through so much pain and agony and torture. The guards didn’t behave well and became abusive and they became worse when they were bored and “played” with the prisoners in bad circumstances. The people starved and were abused. The research was gathered but they shouldn’t have went through that much to obtain that information.
13) How do the ethical dilemmas in this research compare with the ethical issues raised by Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments? Would it be better if these studies had never been done?
a. I believe that the experiment was much worse than Milgram’s experiment. The prison experiment starved them and tortured them. During Milgram’s experiment, the subjects were just lied to. They were forced to “shock” the student but no people were harmed. I believe that the Milgram’s experiment was okay to do but not the prison experiment.
1) What police procedures are used during arrests, and how do these procedures lead people to feel confused, fearful, and dehumanized?
a. Policemen went around the neighborhood to arrest college students from their houses for robbery, burglary, and violation of penal codes. After they were searched, spread against the police car and handcuffed, they brought them to the police station. The guards had worn sunglasses so the suspects wouldn’t be able to look at their eyes, feeling fear. The suspects were confused because they were left blindfolded in the cell to wonder what they’ve done wrong. What left them dehumanized is that they were searched from head to toe and had no way to fight against him, the policeman …show more content…
warned them of their legal rights and had to identify them, forcefully taking their thumbprints to be booked. While in jail, the prisoners were only identified by their ID number and had to shave their heads to minimize their individuality.
2) If you were a guard, what type of guard would you have become?
How sure are you?
a. If I were a guard, I’d want to be a “good guy”. I’d do little favors for them and they wouldn’t shout at me, I’d be the favorable guard and not feel as threatened as the others. I hope that the prisoners wouldn’t treat me as badly as the stricter guards that have “fun” with the prisoners as if they were toys.
3) What prevented "good guards" from objecting or countermanding the orders from tough or bad guards?
a. The guards had different shifts. So the night shift was too lenient and let the prisoners rebel and do whatever they want but when the morning shift arrived, they were mad at how the prisoners disobeyed them. They blamed the night shift but they don’t work together so they have no communication therefore, the good guards can’t be good guards when the bad guards are messing up the prisoners when it’s their shift.
4) If you were a prisoner, would you have been able to endure the experience? What would you have done differently than those subjects did? If you were imprisoned in a "real" prison for five years or more, could you take …show more content…
it?
a. No, I’d never be able to stay in a “real” prison for five years. I wouldn’t have fought back because they have the authority and can do whatever they want to me. I would’ve laid back and just took it. I wouldn’t be able to stay in the prison but I wouldn’t have done what they’ve done.
b.
10) After the study, how do you think the prisoners and guards felt when they saw each other in the same civilian clothes again and saw their prison reconverted to a basement laboratory hallway?
a.
I feel like the prisoners would feel betrayed by their fellow researchers. I would hold a grudge against the guards because they didn’t have to go through that trouble. I don’t believe that the guards felt bad about the prisoners because they’re free now, but the prisoners were starving and treated poorly. I think that the prisoners and the guards both felt relieved that the prison was reconverted to the basement lab because the prisoners have spent horrible days in there; starving, restless, and bathing in their filth. The guards probably were relieved because they didn’t have to stand around and watch over the
prisoners.
11) Moving beyond physical prisons built of steel and concrete, what psychological prisons do we create for ourselves and others? If prisons are seen as forms of control which limit individual freedom, how do they differ from the prisons we create through racism, sexism, ageism, poverty, and other social institutions? Extend your discussion to focus on:
i. The illusion of prison created in marriages where one spouse becomes "guard" and the other becomes "prisoner"
a) When a couple becomes married, they’re devoted to their spouse. One will be an annoying guard and the other will become their prisoner. That just shows how one cares for the other and doesn’t want them to be reckless. The spouse keeps the other in line so he doesn’t get into trouble. I believe that these “prisons” are okay because they revolve on keeping the other safe. ii. The illusion of prison created in neurosis where one aspect of the person becomes the prisoner who is told he/she is inadequate and hopeless, while another aspect serves as a personal guard
b) These illusions are bad because the person is confused about how they feel. A person should have self confidence in themselves and not put themselves down. When one aspect of the person is guarding his actions, it’s good so he doesn’t do things that he’s not physically capable of. It is only bad when the person loses their self-confidence and doesn’t believe that it is worth putting effort into succeeding. iii. The silent prison of shyness, in which the shy person is simultaneously his or her own guard and prisoner
c) A “silent prison of shyness” is bad because this doesn’t allow the prisoner to communicate with others. The person won’t know how to interact with others and won’t have the friends or support that he need to advance.
12) Was it ethical to do this study? Was it right to trade the suffering experienced by participants for the knowledge gained by the research? (The experimenters did not take this issue lightly, although the Slide Show may sound somewhat matter-of-fact about the events and experiences that occurred).
a. I don’t believe that it was ethical to do this study. The prisoners went through so much pain and agony and torture. The guards didn’t behave well and became abusive and they became worse when they were bored and “played” with the prisoners in bad circumstances. The people starved and were abused. The research was gathered but they shouldn’t have went through that much to obtain that information.
13) How do the ethical dilemmas in this research compare with the ethical issues raised by Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments? Would it be better if these studies had never been done?
a. I believe that the experiment was much worse than Milgram’s experiment. The prison experiment starved them and tortured them. During Milgram’s experiment, the subjects were just lied to. They were forced to “shock” the student but no people were harmed. I believe that the Milgram’s experiment was okay to do but not the prison experiment.