If I found myself in the situation of the Stanford prison experiment, I would try and remain submissive to

the authority throughout the imprisonment period. Not because it was a choice but the right thing to
do since the authorities took action when one did not submit to them. With lack of respect to the
authorities, they became so aggressive on you (Bottoms, 2014). This would have led me to depression as
I try to adjust with the social roles which every prisoner was expected to follow to the latter for an easy
time in the prison. The transition from my life I was living that was independent, to another life that
forced me to immerse in all the norms and social responsibilities in the prison would lead me react like I
have a mental breakdown. I would start screaming and causing commotion in the cell following the
torture the guards and the authorities made the prisoners go through. For example, when the guards
went round in the cells at 2.30 am waking up the prisoners with the call of whistles and clanging batons.
Which the prisoners refused to respond to the call and they insulted the guards.

For instance, on the first day of the prison experiment, the prisoners were subjected to an oppressive
atmosphere where by they were forced to wear a dress and have a chain locked with a padlock around
one ankle. This would have made me react in a rebellion manner since I did not expect this is what goes
on in prisons which is I believe is an institution where people are instilled with change of behavior not
torture and pain. This was a harsh experience for the first day behind bars, which makes one to be
traumatized following an imagination that they were more days worse than the first day. I would also
become disoriented due to the cruelty and the oppressiveness of the guards. Having participated
willingly and come to experience such torture, I would be the first one to start a riot and demonstration
in the prison demanding for fairness and humane treatment from the guards and the authorities. I
would also act in a disobedience way especially to the guards who took pleasure in causing pain and
suffering to the prisoners. For instance, they made a prisoner do number counting off loudly as they
carried on with pushups. They went ahead in making the prisoners use a bucket in their cell for
excretion purposes when they needed to access a washroom whereby, they restricted bathrooms
access.

In my view, I think that Stanford prison experiment was not ethical due to the lack of fully information
material about the experiment. After a study was conducted on the prison, many criticisms emerged
which were ethically based. For example, Zimbardo was accused of conducting an experiment that
attracted many participants without giving them full information on what to expect. Ethically, I think this
is wrong since Zimbardo himself thought the experiment was ethical until it commenced and it was hard
to figure out the whole process. I think the experiment was unethical due to lack of care and protection
for the prisoner and also the guards. Also, they did not take much time on training the guards properly
on how to handle and treat the prisoners. According to Zimbardo, the experiment needed twenty dour
males who would be imprisoned and carry on the experiment. Later on, he made twelve of the
volunteers’ prisoners and the other twelve males guards which in my point of view is ethically
inappropriate. This led to mental breakdown of the prisoners following the torture they went were
submitted to. They were heard yelling and screaming as the guards flogged them and tortured them
since they were in power. An experiment that was to go on for a period of two weeks, lasted for only six
days following the stress and anxiety the prisoners developed from the torture.

I think the arrest of the prisoners from they homes was a violation of ethics since they did not approve
the arrest from home since it was a volunteering experiment. I think that volunteers for the experiment
were supposed to be protected from any harm that was caused by psychological disorder. But this was
not the case as the prisoners were submitted to torture that made them feel humiliated and depressed.
The authority responsible for the experiment did not have an anticipation to look for an alternative
method in case the imprisonment failed and the prisoners to be helped with another mean. Instead,
when a prisoner could not take the torture any more, they released him leaving the rest to keep moving
with the experiment. To me this is ethically wrong.

The prisoners lost they identity as they were subjected to a different system that involved depression,
being helpless and dependable on the system and demands of the authorities (Haney, et al., 1973).

In conclusion the whole of the Stanford prison experiment was a fraud with a lot of influence to the
participants. Its intention was to have a statistic on the impact of role-playing and the social
expectations on the behavior of prisoners over a fortnight. However, the investigator of the prison
terminated the contract after six days following the mistreatment of the participants which had
increased in an alarming manner.

References

Bottoms, S. (2014). Timeless cruelty: Performing the Stanford prison experiment. Performance

Research, 19(3), 162-175.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html

Haney, C., Banks, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. The Sociology
of Corrections (New York: Wiley, 1977), 65-92.