Week Two Blog Entry: Stanford Prison Experiment

I think that the prison experiment was interesting to say the least. In response to the question of whether or not the experiment was ethical-I would say that the experiment itself wasn't unethical. It was conducted to get a better understanding of the changes in attitude and behavior of individuals who role play. That was the main problem to be solved and that in it of itself is educational, if not harmless in the least. It was the shocking actions of the participants that resulted in some unethical behaviors. The role consumed the participants to where they acted irrationally, treating their colleagues like criminals, or tyrants. The experiment showed that when people are put in difficult or different situations they can develop completely different personalities. I think the experiment and results remind me of the book Lord of the Flies, or even the movie Castaway, where people are put in a position completely different from their previous lifestyle, upsetting their mindset. The uncharted waters, give the people a new way of life to live, where they find the have to reassess their day to day routines, and moral codes. In a way I can relate it even to settling into a new town after a move- one must adjust to the area, like a city for example, one must learn which streets are safe to walk on and which are not. You might develop a slightly defensive exterior until you gain back a feeling of experience and comfort. That defensive exterior could parallel the hostile actions seen in the experiment.

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

―Yoda