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Review : The Stanford Prison Experiment Essay

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Review of the Stanford Prison Experiment
The general topic of this article is what genuinely causes aggression within prisons, moreover, why these institutions are ineffective. Even though conditions inside prisons have improved over the last few decades, the social institution continues to fail in producing inmates ready to return to society. There is a considerable amount of evidence proving that time in these institutions neither rehabilitate or hinder their inhabitants from continuing to commit crimes after their release.
The purpose of this research is unearthing why inmates tend to be aggressive during and after their incarceration periods. Enduring violence, brutality, dehumanization, and degradation during their time in prison, poses the questions: do they act aggressively due to their personal nature, or do they act aggressively in reaction to the way they are treated during their sentence? (Haney, Banks, Zimbardo, 1973)
Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo are focusing on the dispositional hypothesis. This theory suggests that the nature of these social institutions stems from the essence of the people within them, rather than the prison itself. The “guard mentality” suggests that prison guards are sadistic, uneducated, and insensitive, therefore, bring violence and brutality into the environment. In response, the prisoners act aggressively and impulsively. However, there is an alternative theory, that individuals incarcerated have proven to disregard the law, order, and

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