Past Ethical Issues- Stanford Prison Experiment and Abu Ghraib
- Right to Withdraw. – A fundamental tenet of ethical research is not soliciting participation under coercion. ...
- Debriefing. – The study also failed to debrief participants until several years later, at which point it was difficult to assess what level of psychological harm had occurred as a ...
- Protection from Harm. ...
What made the Stanford prison experiment unethical?
§ In reading and researching the Stanford Prison Experiment, all of the code violations mentioned above were easily recognizable. An investigation of this experiment was conducted by the American...
Why is the Stanford prison experiment unethical?
· The major points of all ethical complaints include a lack of fully informed consent and endangering the participants’ mental health (“Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct” par. 4). The participants were unable to give fully informed consent since the professor himself was unable to predict the results of the experiment.
What was wrong with the Stanford Prison Experiment?
There were many ethical issues with this experiment. The prisoners did not agree to being arrested at home. The guards were told to increase the voltage for every wrong answer and didn’t stop when the prisoners begged them to. These were regular people torturing an innocent participant. Zimbardo Stanford was in control of the guards.
What actually happened in the Stanford Prison Experiment?
· Simply so, what were the ethical issues in the Stanford Prison Experiment? The study has received many ethical criticisms, including lack of fully informed consent by …
Why was the Stanford Prison Experiment considered unethical?
Ethical Issues The Stanford Prison Experiment is frequently cited as an example of unethical research. The experiment could not be replicated by researchers today because it fails to meet the standards established by numerous ethical codes, including the Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association.
What are the controversies in the Stanford Prison Experiment?
The study was criticized in 2013 for demand characteristics by psychologist Peter Gray, who argued that participants in psychological experiments are more likely to do what they believe the researchers want them to do, and specifically in the case of the Stanford prison experiment, "to act out their stereotyped views ...
Was it ethical to do this study was it right to trade the suffering experienced by participants for the knowledge gained by the research?
Was it right to trade the suffering experienced by participants for the knowledge gained by the research? Though the researchers could not have anticipated the disastrous potential of their experiment, it was not ethical to conduct this study.
What error did Zimbardo make in his research?
One mistake was his taking on the role of prison superintendent. Instead of simply observing from a neutral location or reviewing the data later, Zimbardo made himself an authority figure, which meant he was part of the experiment.
What are the ethical issues of Stanford?
Nowadays, modern psychologists are expected to adhere to a strict and rigid code of ethical principles in order to ensure the validity of their practices and the safety of the patients and participants. Any psychological experiments that are to be conducted are forced to undergo an extensive ...
Who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment?
The formal acknowledgment of these ethical guidelines by the American Psychological Association happened only after the famous Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by Professor Philip Zimbardo (“Ethical Guidelines for Human Research” par. 12).
Why are experiments considered unsavory?
The history of unsavory experiments shows that the experiments, which have little regard for morals and ethics, tend to lend better results. However, there is a danger in such a way of thinking. Modern psychology is dedicated to helping people and studying human behavior.
What were the effects of the experiment on the prisoners?
The students involved in the experiment were exposed to a great amount of stress, humiliation, and psychological harm. One of the prisoners suffered a mental breakdown and had to be released from his cell prematurely.
Why was one prisoner released from the experiment?
One prisoner had to be released from the experiment due to experiencing a psychological breakdown. The experiment concluded that the brutal behavior of the guards was a situational behavior and not a dispositional one (McLeod 1). The study has received numerous criticisms concerning professional ethics.
Why was the mock guard experiment so famous?
The research became famous due to the unexpected brutality that the mock guards showed towards the prisoners . All participants were tested prior to the experiment and showed no inclination towards sadistic behavior. During these six days, the guards treated the prisoners with increasing neglect, contempt, and abuse.
How long did the prisoner experiment last?
No explicit rules about prisoner conduct were given, aside from the fact that no violence was allowed. The guards were instructed to maintain order through any means necessary (Danko 1). Although the experiment was meant to last for two weeks, it was terminated after six days.
Why is the Stanford Prison Experiment not being conducted today?
The Stanford Prison Experiment would not be allowed to be conducted today due to the various violations of ethics including depriving participants of the right to withdraw, informed consent, debriefing and the protection from physical and psychological harm.
What did Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment reveal?
Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment revealed how social roles can influence our behavior. The Stanford Prison Experiment was a landmark psychological study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life.
Was the Stanford Priso experiment ethical?
The Stanford Priso experiment was not unethical, at least in the principle of the study. In truth the participants were extensively screened for physical and psychological health, and the methods of observation well planned out.
Did Zimbardo know what would happen in the experiment?
The study has received many ethical criticisms, including lack of fully informed consent by participants as Zimbardo himself did not know what would happen in the experiment (it was unpredictable). Also, the prisoners did not consent to being 'arrested' at home.
Why were some people removed from the Stanford prison?
Several others were removed because it was believed they were showing signs of emotional disorders with damaging effects (McLeod, 2016). “In the Stanford prison study, people were stressed, day and night, for five days, twenty-four hours a day.
What happened to other boys that didn't have emotional breakdowns?
Other boys that didn't have emotional breakdowns were blindly obedient to corrupt authority by the guards and did terrible things to each other. And so it is no question that that was unethical.”. There is also an issue of participants not being fully informed of the details of the experiment.
Is the Stanford Prison Experiment ethical?
Image: http://www.prisonexp.org. The Stanford Prison Experiment is highly criticized for its ethical issues. Zimbardo has admitted that he did not initially believe the study would be unethical; however, in the aftermath, he realized the abuse suffered by the participants was unethical (Drury, 2012). Students, “prisoners,” were stripped naked, ...
Was Zimbardo unaware of the inappropriate treatment they would receive from participants?
Undoubtedly, they were also unaware of the inappropriate treatment they would receive from participants. Zimbardo also states that his role as supervisor of the study unintentionally transformed into a role in the study as the prison superintendent.
Stanford Prison Experiment Summary
On August 17, 1971, the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment experiment began in Palo Alto, California when nine male college students were arrested for armed robbery and burglary. But these students weren't criminals, and in fact, they had volunteered to be arrested.
Stanford Prison Experiment Results
To the researchers' surprise, the experiment produced almost immediate results. Right away, the guards got to work on deciding how they were going to implement control of their prison. First, they began to introduce physical punishments, as they forced the prisoners to do push-ups while stepping on their backs.
Stanford Prison Experiment Ethics
While the Stanford Prison Experiment is heavily cited in psychology textbooks, the fact is that it violated many ethical principles as follows.
What ethical issues were at stake in the Stanford Prison Experiment?
Right from the start of the Stanford Prison Experiment there were ethical issues at stake. The participants were not given all the facts about what exactly they were signing and consent forms were not properly completed.
Who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment?
The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted by Professor Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University in 1971 and was designed to explore the psychological impact of the prison environment on prisoners and prison guards. Hey!
What happened to the prisoners in the prisons in the Third Day?
Indeed, by the third day, a riot had broken out and one of the prisoners was beginning to show the symptoms of severe psychological stress. It was not long before the situation rapidly worsened as the behavior of the prison guards became increasingly sadistic and more prisoners succumbed to psychological stress.
Why did Zimbardo's experiment stop?
Start to grab every chance for success in your life! (Sponsored Link; 18+ only) Although Zimbardo intended the experiment to last two weeks, it was abruptly halted after only six days due to the increasingly disturbing behavioral traits being exhibited by the “prisoners” and “prison guards”. At the time, the Stanford Prison Experiment caused ...
How did the guards retaliate against the prisoners?
The guards retaliated by using a fire extinguisher which shot a stream of skin-chilling carbon dioxide, and they forced the prisoners away from the doors. Next, the guards broke into each cell, stripped the prisoners naked and took the beds out.
What punishment did the guards give to prisoners?
Physical Punishment . The prisoners were taunted with insults and petty orders, they were given pointless and boring tasks to accomplish, and they were generally dehumanized. Push-ups were a common form of physical punishment imposed by the guards.
What did Prisoner #8612 suffer from?
Less than 36 hours into the experiment, Prisoner #8612 began suffering from acute emotional disturbance, disorganized thinking, uncontrollable crying, and rage.
What did the guards do to the prisoners?
As the prisoners became more submissive, the guards became more aggressive and assertive. They demanded ever greater obedience from the prisoners. The prisoners were dependent on the guards for everything so tried to find ways to please the guards, such as telling tales on fellow prisoners.
What were the privileges of the prisoners in the Rebellion?
One of the three cells was designated as a "privilege cell." The three prisoners least involved in the rebellion were given special privileges. The guards gave them back their uniforms and beds and allowed them to wash their hair and brush their teeth.
What did the guards wear in the prison?
They also had a tight nylon cap to cover their hair, and a locked chain around one ankle . All guards were dressed in identical uniforms of khaki, and they carried a whistle around their neck and a billy club borrowed from the police. Guards also wore special sunglasses, to make eye contact with prisoners impossible.
Why do prisoners behave in a hostile manner?
Alternatively, prisoners and guards may behave in a hostile manner due to the rigid power structure of the social environment in prisons.
