I agree with Zimbardo’s analysis of the experiment and the system that drove the situation. It is important to note that the captive individuals recognized that the guards were in a prison of their own, as both sides were confined to the same building and the same atrocious and harmful system of the prison. The prisoners experienced distrust and repulsion towards one of the newcomers for causing havoc, as they had already dealt with multiple punishments by then and did not want to face the same aftermath again. Even the writer himself had to remind the guards after the experiment that the aggressive behavior they had exhibited was not their fault, as it was caused by the overall environment of prisons. Each System comes to develop a culture of its own, as many Systems collectively come to contribute to the culture of a society” (Zimbardo 179-180) This quote implies that while their experiment was an important counterpart of the system, the overall results and impact were more complicated.ĭespite some of the respondents claiming to be opposed to abuse and oppression, the delinquent nature of the aforementioned system still took over, as some pacifistic individuals became allured by violence, and certain prisoners became zombified. At some point, the System may become an autonomous entity, independent of those who initially started it or even those in apparent authority within its power structure. Systems are the engines that run situations that create behavioral contexts that influence the human action of those under their control. Over time, Systems come to have a historical foundation and sometimes also a political and economic power structure that governs and directs the behavior of many people within its sphere of influence. In the process of explaining the results of the experiment, Zimbardo criticizes himself for being silent when some of the guards exhibited psychologically abusive behavior towards the prisoners and states the following: “the System includes the Situation, but it is more enduring, more widespread, involving extensive networks of people, their expectations, norms, policies, and, perhaps, laws.
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