Stanford Prison Experiment

Learning’s of the Stanford Prison Experiment to Promote Positive Altruistic Behavior

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Altruism is a core belief where individuals are concerned about another person’s welfare and well-being. In society, altruism is viewed as an innate characteristic even though it is not commonly displayed. Additionally, the concept of altruism may vary greatly when you consider different beliefs and cultures. Ultimately, altruism is a selfless act where an individual will make sacrifices without an expectation for compensation. Regarding the Stanford Prison Experiment, many participants displayed negative and harmful behaviors rather than positive altruistic individual behaviors. The core practices for producing an altruistic environment where individuals display positive behaviors will be defined and analyzed using the results of The Stanford Experiment.
The results of The Stanford Prison Experiment clearly demonstrated that participants readily abandoned their own judgment and beliefs. In fact, participants who normally displayed decent behaviors begin to behave negatively due to the influences of the circumstances. Several influences that impacted participant behavior were social influences, authority figure, expectations of the role, etc. The researchers of The Stanford Prison Experiment utilized assessments to ensure participants did not possess sadistic characteristics. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that social influences had the largest impact on an individual’s behavior rather than personality. This indicates that an altruistic environment where individuals display positive behaviors is achievable. Prison guards in The Stanford Prison Experiment displayed negative behaviors because they lacked altruistic concepts such as self-awareness, understanding of another individual’s perspective, and regulation of emotional reactions. Nevertheless, altruistic concepts can be instilled in individuals and implemented within an institutional...