Political Analysis:

http://www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html#sthash.1ehvqSoE.dpbs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZwfNs1pqG0

1. Watch the video and read articles about the Zimbardo Prison Experiment. Using  your new found ethic knowledge from your CITI training and readings, tell us if you think the Standford Prison Experiment violated research ethics. If so, how --be specific. On the other hand, were there instances where it followed ethics guidelines? Are there any other observations? Write around 300 words

2. Read the below writing and respond to the writer's opinion about the Zimbardo Prison Experiment and ethical issues. Be sure to include about what you liked about the piece, what questions you have, etc. Write around 300 words.

Although the Zimbardo or Stanford Prison experiment definitely yielded some valuable knowledge, it also contained many ethical violations. It did a few things correctly, such as participation being voluntary. The participants were recruited through an add, and were offered monetary compensation, which is not necessarily wrong but does suggest that people likely would not have volunteered without the compensation. The video does not say whether or not the boys were given full compensation since the experiment only lasted 6 instead of 14 days. The participants were assigned to the role of either guard or prisoner by a coin flip...maybe not the most random assignment since a coin flip is only 50/50 with a very large number of attempts and there were only 24 participants. The sample was not the most representative since they were all undergrads, male and white. The results cannot therefore be applied to the general population. The one particular prisoner who was very vocal about being held there should have been allowed to leave the experiment sooner and it was not until he had a total breakdown that he was allowed to leave. Although the effects of the experiment may not have resulted in lifelong psychological damage, there was definitely immediate damage. I would have to say the risks outweighed the benefits and the researchers did not take the necessary steps to prevent harm to the subjects. Additionally, the outcomes and actions of both the prisoners and guards cannot be applied to the prison population either because none of the participants had a criminal history. There coulcertainly be differences if the experiment was conducted with criminals and obviously the simulated prison was not an exact replica of a real prison. Finally, the most unfortunate mistake was that Zimbardo was unable to remain objective during the experiment. He should not have participated in the experiment because it was not necessary to achieve the desired outcome. The lines became very blurred between reality and simulation which is why the experiment ended the way it did. In conclusion, the experiment did not contribute to the benefit of society as a whole although there are undeniably some interesting findings of the study.