Stanford Experiment Group #7 Post
The one thing I didn’t realize mattered for an experiment such as this was the beginning of how
it is supposed to start. Since this was an experiment, I thought that the participants that were
supposed to be the prisoners were just going to be told where to be and stay in a “cell” for a
couple of weeks and the guards just watch them. Now I see the most important part was to see
that the way this experiment begins is just the way it would if a person committed a crime and
was imprisoned for it. The degradation process did not begin later, but as soon as the
“prisoners” were picked up and given half of a uniform to wear, so called deloused, chains on
the ankles to wear and given numbers instead of referring to them as their names. When these
events happened, all of the participants lost sight of the reason why they were there.
Fortunately, a person from the outside of this experiment was able to put things into perspective
for Dr. Zimbardo to put an end to confusion that would have escalated into extreme
confrontations. However, I do think that what went on so far was definitely an indicator of mental
imbalances amongst the whole group.
Karia Hill
Dave Eshelman who played one of the guards in this experiment stood out to me. The fact that
he felt he should go beyond what was required of him made me feel that at that point in his life,
he was very biased. As it was mentioned in the documentary, he could have been a prisoner
instead of a guard at the flip of a coin. He seemed to have totally disregarded that and had no
empathy for the participants who were the prisoners. At the end when a participant who starved
himself, in order to fight back Eshelman in his prison guard role, Eshelman said he wanted to
how for people would go before people would say “stop”. I became annoyed with him because
children and even animals perform his “experiment” regularly. These two groups represent
beings that are said to not have fully developed brains. I took his response to be a poor excuse
for his immaturity. I did see that in more recent interviews with him that he saw how terribly he
behaved. His contribution was valuable; however because he was a great example of how
some people react to favorable positions when others are subject to unfavorable ones.
Karia Hill
One important aspect of the Stanford Prison experiment was the setting. The place where the
experiment took place was designed as an actual prison. In the basement of the university, the
rooms only had beds in them and the doors were steel bar. They also created a space for
solitary confinement in a supply closet. They set that as punishment for the misbehaved
prisoners. The solitary confinement room gave the subject playing the guards an actual power.
They had the authority to punish the prisoner the way they see it. The way that the prison
setting was so realistic to a real prison made the subjects feel like it was realty. It made it easier
for the guards and prisoners to adapt to the situation and their role.
Wenne Zheng
Another important aspect of the experiment was the clothing that was given to both the guards
and the prisoners. Through the video, Dr. Zimbardo explain why he chose certain items for the
guards to have like the sunglasses or the bat. The uniform that the guards wore also played a
part in experiment. Clothing can determine a person’s status, whether or not they are someone
poor or someone rich. In the case of the Stanford Prison experiment, the uniform gave
justification that the guards were the figure of authority therefore they held the power. The
clothes given to the prisoners degrade them, putting as someone weak and defensive. They
were only given a shirt and nothing to cover their bottom. This play a part in putting the
prisoners down and gave the guards more control.
Wenne Zheng
One thing that struck me as weird about this experiment is the fact that no one
really decided to call quits early on. It was standard procedure at the time (and
today) that you could leave any experiment at any point you felt uncomfortable
being a part of, and of course you are provided the same compensation. That being
said I have studied this experiment many times, and honestly part of me feels like it
may have been somewhat exaggerated. ANY prisoner in jail would of course want to
escape whenever they are given a chance, and I cannot really understand why
anyone would just stick it out for the sake of the experiment. That being said it also
isn’t beyond reason to think that Zimbardo and co. allowed these exaggerated claims
to continue, it only added more power to the findings.
Max
In this experiment, I think what is the most fascinating isn’t how the guards were
brutal or how the prisoners just took the punishment, it was how wrapped up
Zimbardo became in his findings. Any moral and ethical human being could see the
degradation that was going on, even his girlfriend who was a psychology student
was absolutely appalled by what she saw. Even Milgram didn’t just sit and watch as
people brutalized each other, but yet Zimbardo didn’t even care or notice, they were
no longer humans in his eyes, just specimens in a microcosm of society that he was
studying.
Max