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Stamford Prison Experiment

Decent Essays

1. What police procedures are used during arrests, and how do these procedures lead people to feel confused, fearful, and dehumanized? The police used the art of surprise coupled with a lack of information during arrests. The shock of the abruptness of the arrests, public embarrassment, as well as being arrested at random times (especially in broad daylight) could all be labeled as contributing factors that would lead the people to feel confused, fearful and dehumanized. The behavior of the “prison staff” (informing the prisoners of their “serious offenses” and showering them to remove their germs and lice) could certainly without a doubt cause the detainees to feel embarrassed and confused. Not only would this be degrading for them, …show more content…

The illusions began to come to life from the moment the inmates were being deloused and dressed in their uniforms. All of the events that led up to their imprisonment conditioned them psychologically. Also, the daily counts and ankle bracelets helped to further reinforce this. Like the narrator said, whenever they would adjust themselves in their sleep, the padlock of the ankle bracelet would hit their other foot and wake them, reminding them of where they were. This combined with being jolted out of sleep to be “counted” would have a severe impact on ones subconscious. What reality is ‘supposed’ to be to the inmates is held up in comparison to what is actually going on in their environment. As for the implications in the poem, the author is stating that within life, it is safe to say that generally speaking, death is the only certainty that we have. But for some, realization of the reality of life would mean death for them. Applying this rationale to this prison setting, the same questions are presented: in prison, is any illusion a form of freedom for the inmates, or is freedom in general an illusion for them? 8. What is identity? Is there a core to your self-identity independent of how others define you? How difficult would it be to remake any given person into someone with a new identity? Identity is anything that can provide us with a way of answering what we are. I believe that there is a core basis of

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