Ethical Evaluation of the Stanford Prison Study
Dr. Zimbardo’s conduct of the experiment was not ethical for several reasons. First, the conditions of the inmates were unsafe, which raised doubts about their suitability (Vsauce, 2018). Second, none of the participants consented to confirm the safety and compensation conditions after the experiment. Although the men were given $15 a day in the experiment (Setting up, 2023), this was not enough for the inmates to cope with the humiliation and violence from the guards. Ethicality is a significant aspect of the violation of the experiment’s conditions.
Key Social Psychological Constructs Revealed During the Study
One of the results of the experiment is that social conditions and ideological perceptions in this environment can determine behavior. The situation in which a person finds himself or herself dominates his or her personal qualities and causes them to be exacerbated in an environment such as prison (Vsauce, 2018). Cognitive dissonance is a moment of truth or reinterpretation of reality, which mediates a behavior change. If prison conditions were better and guards were instructed on behavior, they would not exhibit the same behavior. Participants would have come out of their experiment with informed consent and implemented more than just the guard-prisoner system.
Evidence of Social Psychology Concepts in Action
First of all, conformity manifested itself in increased sadistic behavior on the part of the guards and their voluntary use of violence and humiliation against prisoners. Second, the power of authority and the ability to control others caused the guards to behave violently and to be despotic in many ways. They used violence to achieve the same deed among the guards to gain power in the milieu. Finally, in the example of the guards, one can see that the social situation where they dominate and the characteristics of the prison as an environment cause them to change their actions thoroughly.
References
Setting up. (2023). Prison Experiment. Web.
Vsauce. (2018). The Stanford prison experiment [Video]. YouTube. Web.