The Stanford Prison Experiment: Movie Analysis

The Stanford Prison Experiment was an interesting movie. The way the experiment turned out versus the expectations was different and changed completely. The independent variable was the roles that the participants were assigned, which was determined by a coin flip. The dependent variable was the participants’ behaviors throughout the experiment. Some of the guards’ behaviors were cruel and immoral. The prisoners seemed to be under a lot of pressure. This experiment was out of line. If I were a participant in this experiment as a guard, I would have lay low and be aware that this is only an experiment. I would not take charge; I would correct the prisoners if they were wrong, but I will always try to know my limit. In the movie, I noticed that

Zimbardo lost himself throughout the experiment. There were parallels between the participants and the scientists. With the participants, the guards became violent and abused their authority overtime. For the scientists, Dr. Zimbardo became demanding and took control of the experiment. The stimulator was reflecting on the scientists without them realizing it. There was a point in the movie when Dr. Zimbardo claimed that he should have the final say, only he can make the decision to whether let a participant go or not. He did not care about anything else besides the results, even though the experiment was not going as expected. If I were Dr. Zimbardo, I would have ended the experiment after the first physical abuse. However, if there were other choices, I would have tried to change the stimulation and limit the guards’ authority after witnessing an abuse. If the guard goes beyond the line and abuse the prisoners, then I would have let that guard go. I would try to fix the experiment first. If a prisoner breaks down, I would release him from the experiment. No innocent person deserves to go through such emotional abuse like some of the prisoners did. Even though it only lasted a few days, it scarred some of the participants for the rest of their