The Psychology of Evil
After exploring the Prison Experiment Website and watching the video, consider the following questions:
video:The Psychology of Evil | Philip Zimbardo (YouTube - 23:10)
source https://www(dot)prisonexp(dot)org/the-story
What was the impact of the group on individual behavior in these circumstances?
If you were a guard, what type of guard would you have been? Why do you think so?
What prevented “good guards” from objecting to and/or countermanding the orders from tough/bad guards?
If you were a prisoner in this experiment, would you have been able to endure the experience? What would you have done differently from the actual subjects?
Discuss your thoughts on Zimbardo's three-part theory on why good people do bad things. Do you agree with this classification? Why or why not?
Discuss how the three main categories of formal organizations—normative/voluntary, coercive, and utilitarian—can contribute to creating bad barrels" and "bad barrel makers." Provide specific examples.
in a written submission of approximately 300 words.
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What was the impact of the group on individual behavior in these circumstances?
Group influenced individuals to develop certain personalities, like excessive aggression of the guards. People want to belong to a group. So, they modify their behaviors to fit in the group. In the Stamford experiment, most guards became immersed in the group’s norms, making them lose their sense of identity and personal responsibility.
If you were a guard, what type of guard would you have been? Why do you think so?If I were a guard, I would have been a tough but fair guard because I believe in the rule of law. A tough but fair guard follows prison rules despite having power. They stand their ground and do not favor individuals. This is who I am.
What prevented “good guards” from objecting to and/or countermanding the orders from tough/bad guards?
The tough/bad guards were very authoritative and aggressive. In contrast, the good guards were lenient and easily obeyed the commands of the tough guards. The authoritative nature of the tough guards made them appear more powerful, preventing good guards from objecting to and/or countermanding their orders. If you were a prisoner in this experiment, would you have been able to endure the experience?
If I were a prisoner in this experiment, I woul...