One part of the experiment that I found interesting is the way that the “prisoners” were stripped of their individuality and forced to conform to this new persona. The first way this was done was by making the participants wear ill-fitting, uncomfortable uniforms which removed the outermost layer that made them different. Then, there are the chains that the prisoners had to wear around one of their legs, these chains served no purpose besides making the participants feel even less powerful. Finally, the prisoners lost their names and were referred to only by their numbers, all of this served to make the prisoners feel less like themselves and place them into the prison mentality making them less likely to assert themselves. Also, by removing the prisoners’ individuality the guards were able to use more force on them because they did not see them as people.
Another part of the experiment that I found interesting is Zimbardo’s role. Usually researchers take on a more observational role where they just collect data and make notes on what is happening. However, for this experiment Zimbardo chose to make himself a participant and actually be in charge of everybody else. I think that this is extremely odd given the nature of the experiment because it may have clouded Zimbardo’s judgement and prevented him from actually observing how the experiment was playing out. I actually found Zimbardo as he was speaking in the video to be a bit hypocritical because it seems like he is blaming the participants for getting too involve in their role at the same time he is downplaying that he did the same thing.