Stanford Prison Experiment

Mike

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The Stanford Prison experiment by Zimbardo matches only the breakthrough of the Milgram obedience test. In Milgram's test, humans were led to giving a fake patient a fatal electric shock. The shock wasn't real, so the people involved in the study thought they were doing it. Only around 10-15% refused it.

In Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment, instead of giving direct commands, he leaves a mock prison with prisoners and guards to do what they please. Those who assumed the role of guards spent no time brutalizing and attacking their fellow inmates, and in this case, they were aware they could have been randomly picked to be a prisoner. They did not know what the study was about, however.

Because of what prisoner 819 did, my cell is a mess...

Psychologists are still trying to determine if this situational study can be used to understand human rights abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly those at Abu Ghraib. Studying of group dynamics does show that people are more willing to do anything in groups than they would outside of them. If you're remotely interested, check it out:

 
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