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Stanford Prison Experiment Vs Lord Of The Flies Essay

320 Words2 Pages

The Stanford Prison Experiment was a psychological study that involved placing students in a mock prison and randomly selecting guards and prisoners amongst the students. This experiment took place in 1971 and each Stanford student was paid 15 dollars a day. The experiment was set to run for two weeks however failed to run longer than six days. The experiment revealed a lot of information about humanity. The experiment proved to us that when given power, humans reveal a darker side of themselves this is known as the abuse of power. When smart and level-headed people are placed into a position of power, where they have freedom to treat the powerless however they so desire, their values and morals become greatly blurred by the abuse of power. For example, students selected as guards completely transformed when they were given this power. They forced prisoners to wear bags on their heads, gave them little access to toilet, and treated them like animals. They suddenly became greatly sadistic and brutal. …show more content…

The Lord of the Flies also explored the concept of power and how it is inflicted upon others. In the book, Jack is the abuser of power and becomes more like a savage as the novel progresses. Unlike Jack, Ralph uses his power for rules and establishment. The book and experiment/film both explore the question; What will happen to psychologically healthy people when they are placed in a situation that abuses power and doesn’t engage in the rules of society? Like in the experiment, at the end of the novel one person remains the most powerful and reigns above the rest. Jack abandons the concept of society and fully engages in savagery and chaos. At the end of the experiment, the guards are in complete control despite the constant fights orchestrated by

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Comparing Lord Of The Flies And The Stanford Prison Experiment

523 Words | 3 Pages

There are uncanny similarities and differences between the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding's and the Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by Philip Zimbardo. Two of the main subjects from LOTF were civilization and savagery. When put into isolation, would the boys on the island be civilized or fall into the trap of savagery. In the SPE, Zimbardo wanted to find out how humans would perform in a prison-like environment. He put 24 male students in a prison simulation, role-playing as prisoners and guards.

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Compare And Contrast Stanford Prison Experiment And Philip Zimbardo

751 Words | 4 Pages

In 1971, Philip Zimbardo set out to conduct an experiment to observe behavior as well as obedience. In Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment, many dispute whether it was obedience or merely conforming to their predesigned social roles of guards and prisoners that transpired throughout the experiment. Initially, the experiment was meant to test the roles people play in prison environment; Zimbardo was interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards, disposition, or had more to do with the prison environment. This phenomenon has been arguably known to possibly influencing the catastrophic similarities which occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003.The

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Essay Comparing Lord Of The Flies And The Stanford Prison Experiment

598 Words | 3 Pages

The ¨Stanford Prison Experiment¨ was a breakdown of the morals and rules on how people would act toward one another due to their environment, rather than how they should. The study had created more questions than answers, specifically about the darkness and lack of moral standards that inhabits the human soul. It showed that methodical abuse and denial of human rights is nothing new in prison facilities. The novel Lord of the Flies shows how easily people become dangerous depending on their situation, and how easily humans become savages when there are no definite rules. Lord of the Flies and ¨The Stanford Prison Experiment¨ have many similarities in the way they both show the effects that occur when you lose all moral standards, and lack of rules.

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326 Words | 2 Pages

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1088 Words | 5 Pages

Democratic power can be used to control a society, as well as establish a closeness as civilians. To lose sight of this can mean the corruption of a civilization caused by the lack of order. One’s choice of independence in order to better the chances of their survival requires complete dedication and willingness to risk. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph loses his democratic power due to his failure to ensure survival and protect the boys as a leader. Ralph’s failure to lead the group is due to his initial and chronic independence and inability to compete with Jack’s followers, accounted for mainly by fear.

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810 Words | 4 Pages

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Stanford Prison Experiment And Lord Of The Flies

485 Words | 2 Pages

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870 Words | 4 Pages

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813 Words | 4 Pages

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858 Words | 4 Pages

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1469 Words | 6 Pages

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Essay On Stanford Prison Experiment

599 Words | 3 Pages

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746 Words | 3 Pages

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496 Words | 2 Pages

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1163 Words | 5 Pages

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