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The Stanford Prison And The Milgram Experiment

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What does it mean to be in a role of a prisoner and a guard? We answer this question by examining two main experiments, The Stanford Prison and the Milgram Experiment. Both emphasize the different experiences of power relationships, and how a certain amount of power can change a person based on the situation and the person. In the Stanford prison experiment, Philip Zimbardo created a prison-like environment for college students to research the effects of power structures and labeling in a prison setting. In the experiment, Zimbardo converted a basement of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison and asked 75 applicants to participate. 24 men were chosen to participate and were paid $15 per day. Prisoners were arrested at their own homes, blindfolded, and driven to Stanford University's psychology department, where the deindividuation process began. Within no time the guards and the prisoners began to change. In the video …show more content…

One guard, in particular, showed a level two of Morality boys put in the positions to be guards really took the role of a Guard seriously they strived to obey rules and social norms to win the approval of the other guards. They wanted to show that being in authority means power over everything, most guards didn't want to seem to be not worthy of power. They got to a stage of social order maintaining morality when the guards were put into these positions they started to change and conform to the rules and laws to maintain power over the prisoners. The guards started to retaliate by using fire extinguishers, stripping the prisoners and taking their beds out, and harassing and intimidating the prisoners. Some prisoners received special treatment. Three prisoners were given special privileges. They got their uniforms back, could wash their hair and brush their teeth, and could eat

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