Please watch the documentary below. It is 29 minutes.
After watching the documentary above, please consider and reflect below on what we can take from the Stanford Prison Experiment that might cause you to interpret and/or reinterpret Steve Harmon's conceptual identity. Does the study cause you to think about Steve's situation differently? Why or Why not?
How might Myer's podcast on writing and race be connected to this video? What connections can you make to the book Monster?
In the comment section below take a few minutes to reflect on what you have heard and seen in relation to the reading of Monster.
I remember learning about this in my General Psychology class in undergrad. Really interesting to see the footage and hear from the people involved.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be difficult for prisoners to continue to think of themselves as good people when those in charge are telling them they are not. I think Steve Harmon's conceptual identity is really focused on this too. He struggles with wondering whether he is a good person or not. I think watching this documentary made that more clear to me.
I suppose Myer's podcast could relate to this in the idea of place. That society defines good places and bad places. Harlem is identified by much of society as a "bad place", but for some people, like Myer's, it has positive associations of home.
I think I am beginning to understand Steve Harmon's reactions to prison more fully. It isn't just that place, although prison is certainly an awful place. It is what the place represents- killers, bad people, that he feels must take on that identity.
The study made me realize how people are treated in prison, and how difficult it would be for an innocent person in prison. By seeing how quickly the prisoners and guards adapted to the situation, it made me realize how quickly people mold to what they are "supposed" to be. Not only did Steve have to think about what kind of person he was at age 16, he also needed to think about how it will impact the rest of this life.
ReplyDeleteFrom someone who has not idea what harlem is like, Myer's discussion gives an understanding on how someone would have positive feelings about a place that is known for being dangerous. It also made me think about how someone who spends a large portion of their life in prison struggles when they leave. It had become their "home"
Steve mentioned several times that he was beginning to question his innocence. I think, just like the prisoners and guards in the experiment, Steve began to question and alter his conceptual identity to match the feelings and characteristics his fellow prisoners and those that he felt were expected of him. He must be a bad person if he's is a place like that and because he is acquainted with people like Bobo and Osvaldo. Don't we sometimes judge people by the people they are acquainted with? I would guess that if Steve had been found guilty and forced to stay in that place he would have continued on that progression and eventually would have been forced to do things against his original nature just to "survive."
ReplyDeleteThe podcast talked about how the author wants to depict Harlem in a good way. The author doesn't want to perpetuate the idea that it is a bad place, but that it really is "home" to many people.
“The boundary between reality and make believe was to become blurred even for Zimbardo.” No, really? But I thought all intellectuals…
ReplyDeleteSo, “people are basically good” and “nurture” not “nature” is once again proven false! What I really find amazing about this experiment is that someone like Zimbardo won’t get that. I’ve learned that standard procedure at the University is: first gather the information, then make it say what you want it to say. See the following website for Erich Fromm’s critical analysis of this experiment (Fromm, “The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness”). It will explain the flaws of the experiment and why drawing an analogy between it and real prisoners is not reasonable. (http://www.angelfire.com/or/sociologyshop/frozim.html)
Oh, by the way, everyone in prison is innocent. :)
"An evil place won over good people" I heard this quote in the video clip and it made me think of the character Steve in Monster. As I read this book, I found my stomach aching for this young boy, trying to prove his innocence. I thought about him reflecting on his life, as he rested on his cot in his cell. I had the same type of feeling watching the video of the Standford experiment, watching these young college students put themselves through this type of torture. Well educated or not, the human mind can only endure so much abuse. That, and who really is around to protect you when faced with such horror?
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