Sample Essay

Zimbardo is responsible for conducting extensive research on the topic of how isolation changes the morality of humans which is accessed through their changes behavioral characteristics. The Stanford Prison Experiment is one such experiment which supports our argument. The research experiment “was a classic demonstration of the power of social situations to distort personal identities and long cherished values and morality as students internalized situated identities in their roles as prisoners and guards.” (Zimbardo, 1)

The research questions included significant concerns like “What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?”  (Zimbardo, 1). The Stanford Prison Experiment had the students in the role of correctional guards being assigned their respective title of position thus removing them form their identity. Similarly the students playing the prisoners were made to be anonymous and removed form their identity through the assignment of numbers. The interaction between the mock guards and the prisoners in the Stanford Prison experiment did not involve any personal exchange or communication which added to the isolation element both for the guards as well as the prisoners. However the presence of the authority and the power delegated to the hoards, along with the lack of supervision of their actions, and accountability that they were not liable to made the mock prison guards to behave in inhumane and morality unsound manner. The prison guards knew that their actions were not being restricted which led to them being more daring and abusive towards the prisoners, while the social conditioning of the prisoners in the experiment made them accept the treatment that they were receiving until they started to rebel and cause riot.

 These are model essays please place an order for custom essays, research papers, term papers, thesis, dissertation, case studies and book reports.