I have included a documentary of a famous study in Psychology. The Stanford Prison study also referred to as the Zimbardo Prison study (named after psychologist Philip Zimbardo) is famous because it split participants into two groups, prisoners and prison guards (in a real prison setting). Unfortunately, the conditions within the experiment got out of hand, while the researchers did not intervene before human rights were violated.
This study was turned into a documentary. Now-a-days, many textbooks talk about this case as a lesson in ethics. Most researchers agree that it is not right to subject participants to unfair and dangerous circumstances like in this experiment. So, watch the documentary and learn how seemingly interesting studies can turn into dangerous studies, if researchers haphazardly put together a study without considering safety, dignity, participant consent, and the ethical principle of "do no harm."
-I encourage you to take notes during the documentary.
-After it is over, write down questions that you still have about the study. Research the answers to the questions that you have about the study.
-Identify mistakes that the researchers made with this study.
-How could this study have been improved?
-Talk to a friend about the study. What conclusions do they draw about the importance of the study?
-Overall, do you think the conclusions learned from the study outweigh the human rights violations? If so, why? Is it possible to study behavior in a more humane way?
-How would you feel if someone asked you to participate in a study without informing you of the risks?
-In one paragraph, explain the need to balance interesting research questions with public safety and welfare.
