The Stanford Prison Experiment: An Analysis Of Ethical Dilemmas

The first design of the simulation exercise involve all of the students participating in a dollar game. In order for the dollar game to be exercised correctly, students have to follow the five rules of the game. The game has two specific players: the dollar card sign holders and the blank card holders. The dollar sign card holders must negotiate with the blank card holders in order to collect the $8 kitty since dollar sign card holder cannot collect the money without the blank card holders. Dollar sign card holders and blank card holders must reach an agreement on how the money will be divided. After the collection of the $8 kitty, the distribution of the money will depend on the agreement reached. It is also important to note that participants will lose the dollar if they were not “part of the deal.” Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in the game. The main ethical issue is the unequal distribution of power among the participants of the game. The five individuals with the …show more content…
In my personal opinion, I do not view it as a “successful” experiment because some of Zimbardo’s questions could have been answered by simply investigating or studying certain cases or facilities that cause people’s personalities to be shaped or altered. Even though the study was meant to examine how “good people” act in an “evil place,” I found the study to be rather pointless. Although it was shocking to see how far the participants took their roles, I still think this could have been examined by not purposefully putting individuals in traumatic experiments. I saw an extreme abuse of power from both Zimbardo and the guards. Similar to the dollar game, it exemplified how the group with less or no power are left vulnerable to those with power. My main takeaway from watching this horrific experiment is the reaffirmation that power and unexpected incidences may influence one’s behavior regardless of how “good” you