The Sanford Prison experiment is one of the historically known tests which have raised legal and ethical questions in the psychology field. Led by psychologist Zimbardo and his colleagues in the year 1973, this was an experiment that aimed at identifying whether the highly reported brutality in prison was as a result of the sadistic personality of the guards or it had to do with the environment. The experiment was based on three key terms, dispositional which explains behavior with regards to character, situational which explains the behavior with regards to the environment and lastly, deindividualization which explains the behavior with regards to the role conformity.
This experiment involved individuals acting in different roles in a setting depicting a prison. There were the police guards, the prison widens and the prisoners. Though it was an experiment, the situation was made to look real by setting the building like a police cell and participants being blindfolded to the scene without their knowledge. The experiment went contrary to what was expected. The participants started assuming and acting their role. Surprisingly, the guards adapted to their roles too quickly. They were given the authority to ensure that they do everything to ensure that the prisoners obeyed their orders. They started harassing the prisoners. The experiment went to an extreme as the guards were extremely harsh and overused the power granted to them by virtue of their roles. The prisoners were gradually being affected psychologically, with some showing signs of depression. The situation became worse, and after the sixth day, the experiment was called off since some of the prisoners had been affected psychologically by the experiment.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The experiment has many implications in real life. First, it was evident from the experiment that there is the power that comes with the position, and is generally abused by those who find themselves in such positions. Secondly, it was an implication that the situation or the environment triggers some traits in someone and causes them to act either rudely or politely as dictated by the environments ( Douglas, Sutton & Cichocka, 2017). Lastly, the experiments showed that too much stress and harassment could lead to psychological issues as demonstrated by some of the prisoners who were exposed to harassments and cruel environments in prison.
This experiment showed different results which are the significant interest in the psychology field. In this experiment, the social psychology played a significant role and is demonstrated in its findings. The first result that is in line with the social theory is the situation change and its impact on behavior ( Feigin, Owens & Goodyear-Smith, 2018). One of the critical aspects of social behaviors is the environment. In this case, the participants changed their behaviors because the situation dictated them to do so. As the experiment continued, it was noticed that the participants acting the prisoner roles started behaving as if they were a convict. For instance, some staged a protest while other sort favors from the guard. On the other side, the environment modified the roles of the guards, and they started behaving as if they were the real guard as bestowed by their role in the experiment. The last aspect of social theory is leadership. This was demonstrated by the guards ( Smith et al., 2018). The guards were bestowed the power by virtue of their roles. They were granted the power to act as they wanted so that they ensure that the prisoners obey their command. They acted brutally and demonstrated their power over the prisoners by subjecting them to harsh treatment. The social psychology theory claims that behavior change in a human being is created through different aspects such as leadership, power, and environments. These are demonstrated in this experiment ( Roy, Brunson & Stone, 2018).
The social cognitive theory attempts to relate human behavior with a different aspect of life. The social cognitive theory claims that the environment influences human actions they are in and their traits. In this experiment, social cognitive theory can be used to explain the reasons behind the environmental impact on the prisoners, and personalities of the guards. For instance, prisoners know that in prison, they had to protest or be humble to survive. As a result, some protested while others decided to remain loyal to the guard. These behaviors are therefore tied to the situation these individuals found themselves while in prison.
Psychological disorders stem from different factors, among them the environment. One aspect of this experiment was the psychological issues which were observed after the prisoners were exposed to a harsh environment and harassment by the correctional officers. At the end of the experiment, some prisoners were tormented and were showing evidence of psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression ( Jiang et al., 2018). Some were psychologically tortured that they ended up crying and uttering some words which were difficult to comprehend. As a result, it could be easy to conclude that to some extent; this experiment can explain psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression ( Smith et al., 2018). The findings in these experiments and the way it was conducted are the key factors that brought about discomfort both physically and psychologically, and this contributed to a sign of depression that some of the prisoners exhibited.
References
Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017). The psychology of conspiracy theories. Current directions in psychological science , 26 (6), 538-542.
Feigin, S., Owens, G., & Goodyear-Smith, F. (2018). Theories of human altruism: A systematic review. Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Functions , 1 (1), 5.
Jiang, D. S., Kellermanns, F. W., Munyon, T. P., & Morris, M. L. (2018). More than meets the eye: A review and future directions for the social psychology of socioemotional wealth. Family Business Review , 31 (1), 125-157.
Roy, C. B., Brunson, J. L., & Stone, C. A. (2018). The Academic Foundations of Interpreting Studies: An Introduction to Its Theories . Gallaudet University Press.
Smith, E. N., Romero, C., Donovan, B., Herter, R., Paunesku, D., Cohen, G. L., ... & Gross, J. J. (2018). Emotion theories and adolescent well-being: Results of an online intervention. Emotion , 18 (6), 781.
