Tegbir Kaur Week 12 - Just Because I Can
Do you think you would be a good dictator? This was the question that one of my friends posed to me about a month ago while on a long drive back home (said friend had also asked us about an hour earlier to reveal our “deepest, darkest secrets”—if that gives you any idea about the range of our conversations).
Of course, my first instinct was to say absolutely not. I would be too worried about what everyone needed and thought about me. I would be too set on my morals…right?
Sure, this would probably be true initially, but who is truly to say how a person behaves once they have their hands on complete and total power?
The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Dr. Philip Zimbardo in 1971 demonstrates the true sinister nature of the human mind when it is giving authority over another.
In this study, average college student volunteers were divided into two groups—prisoners or prison guards. For two weeks, these students were to be knocked into a different life, chained up in a simulated prison cell on campus. From the moment the experiment started, prisoners were given the whole “experience”; they were arrested for “burglary” and were brought to their new cells in a squad car.
While this experiment produced fascinating results on the behavior of prisoners as the study continued, especially in regards to the psychological concept of deindividuation, the behavior of the prison guards was also incredibly thought-provoking—and terrifying.
Initially, the prison guards were hesitant in enforcing punishment and were not too sure of themselves or their power, just as expected. But it did not take long for it to sink in.
They began, for instance, to wake the prisoners up at the crack of dawn for “counts”—one of the sole purposes of these counts was to show their authority.
I have power and you don’t. I will do what I want just because I can. Remember that. That was the message they were trying to send to their inmates.
All participants were well aware that this was “just an experiment.” Yet, as rebellion began to spark amongst certain prisoners, this was taken personally. The minute they felt their power was being threatened, they “the guards began stepping up their control, surveillance, and aggression.”
Even just the idea of power—knowing that the “power” they held would be immediately taken away once the study ended—was enough to completely turn the guards against their perception of their own morality.
One of the guards later interviewed recalled his surprise as he realized that he was capable of such behavior. During the experiment, he said, he didn’t even realize the true, horrific nature of what he was doing—it was only after the experiment was shut down early (for ethical reasons) that he had a chance to reflect on his actions.
These were all regular college students. They were raised with the same fables, the same proverbs, the same morals as us. If they can go wrong so quickly after a taste of power, where does that truly leave you and I?
Hey Tegbir! First and foremost, thanks for talking about the Stanford Prison Experiment. That’s such a good idea; I should have thought of it. Great hook! I guess for me, I don’t think I would be a good dictator simply because I’m so disorganized. I feel like it sounds like so much work, you know what I mean. I’d probably lose track of everything immediately. There are so many moving parts, right? I don’t know, also having so much influence over so many people sounds so intimidating! What if I ruin their lives? I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing that…but I guess you really never know. Maybe I’d secretly enjoy it deep down. Maybe mob mentality will take control over me. If I somehow vilify my people, I’d probably be decently OK with ruining their lives. Maybe? I don’t have enough self-awareness to answer this question. Anyways. It’s so crazy how the Stanford Prison Experiment actually happened. Reading through your summary was a great refresher, so thanks for that. It’s so, as you said, fascinating in how they really did such a thing. However, I do wonder about how replicable the results are as the experiment is likely too inhumane to do again. Would the results yield differently? I don’t know if we will ever know. I like how you described their idea of authority and their demonstration of it. It’s crazy how they took things so personally. It’s so scary that they didn’t know what they were doing until they reflected on it. Thanks for sharing, Tegbir!
ReplyDeleteHi Tegbir! Honestly, I think that I would be a terrible dictator, not because I don't have the capacity to be cruel, but because I would most likely strip all billionaires of their wealth, implement universal base income and healthcare, and introduce climate protections before promptly leaving the position. It sounds like a lot of stress and bureaucracy, something which I believe is best left to those more trustworthy and skilled than me. Besides that, I really don't want to be rude, but I'm fairly certain that the Stanford Prison Experiment was deemed invalid? An APA study by Thibault Le Texier found that roughly 80-90% of the participants accurately discerned the researcher's hypothesis that the guards would behave in a hostile and cruel manner. This is a textbook example of participant basis, where people tend to behave in the manner that is either expected of them or that they think is expected of them. Furthermore, a litany of research papers analysed the creator of the experiment's records. They independently came to the conclusion that the researcher taught the guards to behave in the violent manner that was expected of them. This isn't to say that people go crazy with power (look at everything Trump's been doing since he was elected and it has been proven that military depersonalization allows them to kill easier), but I don't want to take such a faulty experiment as gospel (especially since if it was done nowadays it would have been torn a new one by the academic community before it even reached our textbooks). All and all, I think that your blog is a fascinating read. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHi Tegbir! I really enjoyed this blog that you wrote, especially the intro. As soon as I read the first line, I was already engaged since you started the whole blog with a thought-provoking question. I also like how you referenced a Stanford study which proves your point about what power can do to someone. The inclusion of this study makes it much easier to understand the point you are trying to make within your blog. This blog clearly encapsulates what power can do to a person when it is not monitored and the decisions it can cause people to make. This is shown from the interview that you mentioned in which someone claimed that they were unaware of the horrific nature of their actions until they actually reflected on these actions. I remember hearing about this experiment last year in English class and I truly was fascinated by it. Thank you for reminding me about this insane study and tying it into your blog.
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