ETHICS ASSIGNMENT

Mandie and I are doing are ethics assignment on the Standford Prison Experiment. I first learned about this study in my intro to psychology class. I was appalled at first to think that a study like this went on. In case you don't know anything about this experiment, it was held on Standford University's campus in the 1970's. A psychologist known as Zimbardo did the experiment. The purpose was to see if the prisoners and guards acted just like real prisoners and guards. The participants volunteered to do this with the expectation of getting money for doing it. The participants were split into prisoners and wardens. The wardens were dressed just like real prison guards and the prisoners were dressed in prison clothes. The problem was that the wardens started abusing the prisoners physically and emotionally. The prisoners wanted out but they were not allowed by the wardens. Zimbardo observed this but did nothing to stop it until another psychologist helped him to realize the severity of the experiment. He was so caught up in the experiment that he could not see the true reality of the experiment.

I thought this was a horrible experiment. How could he let the study continue when he saw for himself how the prisoners were being treated. This experiment to me was unethical from the beginning. There was no reason that the study should have continued. The wardens took there roles to seriously and enjoyed the power they had over the prisoners. It did show how power can affect you. One thing is that we have learned from this experiment about what not to do in a psychology experiment or any other kind of experiment.