What Are The Ethical Issues In The Stanford Prison Experiment
Violation of Basic Human Rights using the Stanford Prison Experiment
Ethical issues in Psychology
For this paper, I will explore the ethical issues in Psychology, more specifically the violation of basic human rights in the example of the Stanford Prison Experiment. The following questions will be addressed: Was the Stanford Prison Experiment worth the consequences it had on the participants? Was it morally right to put the participants in these conditions without their full consent? I will first begin by discussing the experiment and then explain how it was conducted. I will also briefly explain the American Psychological Association guidelines relevant to this example using three of their APA codes: beneficence, autonomy and justice. Then, I will discuss two contrasting theories, the first will be the theory of utilitarianism and if the consequences of the experiment justify the means; in this experiment it seems that the findings justify the actions that took place. The second theory will focus on the Kantian ethics, more specifically the Categorical Imperative 2 where the experiment will be categorized as morally justified or morally unjustified; it seems that using the Categorical Imperative 2 makes the experiment morally unjustified. Finally, I will present my point of view on the ethics of this experiment, which is derived from both theories such that I believe that the findings of the experiment can morally justify the actions that Zimbardo permitted the prison experiment. …show more content…
As stated by Murthy (2010) human rights are: “another basis for making ethical judgments. The most basic human rights are to have claims or entitlements that enable; a person to survive, to make free choices, to realize one’s potential as a human being (a right means that a person or a group is entitled to do something or entitled to be treated in a certain
Ethical issues in Psychology
For this paper, I will explore the ethical issues in Psychology, more specifically the violation of basic human rights in the example of the Stanford Prison Experiment. The following questions will be addressed: Was the Stanford Prison Experiment worth the consequences it had on the participants? Was it morally right to put the participants in these conditions without their full consent? I will first begin by discussing the experiment and then explain how it was conducted. I will also briefly explain the American Psychological Association guidelines relevant to this example using three of their APA codes: beneficence, autonomy and justice. Then, I will discuss two contrasting theories, the first will be the theory of utilitarianism and if the consequences of the experiment justify the means; in this experiment it seems that the findings justify the actions that took place. The second theory will focus on the Kantian ethics, more specifically the Categorical Imperative 2 where the experiment will be categorized as morally justified or morally unjustified; it seems that using the Categorical Imperative 2 makes the experiment morally unjustified. Finally, I will present my point of view on the ethics of this experiment, which is derived from both theories such that I believe that the findings of the experiment can morally justify the actions that Zimbardo permitted the prison experiment. …show more content…
As stated by Murthy (2010) human rights are: “another basis for making ethical judgments. The most basic human rights are to have claims or entitlements that enable; a person to survive, to make free choices, to realize one’s potential as a human being (a right means that a person or a group is entitled to do something or entitled to be treated in a certain