Philip Zimbardo and Mark Buchanan and Negative Situations - Essay Example

In Zimbardo's infamous prison experiment, average college students were gathered and placed into a prison environment, where they were quick to take on the roles of guards and prisoners. They acted in the ways that they thought they should have; they understood the situation so much that their personalities were taken over to accompany the situation.

In my opinion, I agree with the thoughts of Zimbardo and Buchanan regarding the fact that people are pitted against the natural forces of negative situations. There are many instances when a person is already familiar with the behaviors of a person or a role, so when they are put in similar situations, they react in a way that they are already aware of. As aforementioned, many people just act how they think they should; it is not so much fear of judgment by others, but the fact that they should perform in a certain way, that there are expectations already set down for them.

When people are put into a bad situation, they act as they see fit. Their behavior changes to help them get through whatever the situation is; oddly enough, it seems that most people resort to negative behaviors and actions than positive ones. An adrenaline rush from the situation may bring on negative reactions, or perhaps people just feel a certain strength from being tough in a situation, even if it is negative. If the situation they are in can be considered evil, the person may act accordingly. In a bad situation, how else should a person act? By the situation itself.

I also believe that conformity plays a large role in how people act in situations that can be deemed bad or negative. In some cases, people follow the behaviors of others that are in the same situation. Zimbardo's prison experiment is an example of this - while some of the "prison guards" might have remained true to their personalities and typical behaviors, they noticed that others were strongly taking on the role of real prison guards. These other subjects conformed to the behaviors of the others. Conformity is another mechanism that is often used when a situation gets too intense for someone.

Good people do not always find themselves in good situations; therefore, it can be assumed that good people do not always react in good, positive ways. The concept of survival of the fittest can be seen in these situations; people have to do what they feel they need to when trying to survive a situation, especially one that they normally would not have found themselves in. They can base their personalities and behaviors on what they have previously seen or on what they are witnessing as the situation unfolds by others in that same situation. No matter what the general reason is as to why they act the way they do when they are put up against these natural negative forces in negative situations, these people still seem to use their new behaviors as defense mechanisms to get themselves through the situation. Read More