Question

Which of the two macro theories, conflict or structural functionalism, is best for understanding the phenomena in play during The Stanford Prison Experiment? Why?

Answer 1

The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in 1971 by Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University. It was a landmark psychological study to demonstrate the human response to captivity. Under Philip Zimbardo, the acting prison warden, a simulated prison environment was created to study the development of norms, the effects of roles, labels, and social expectations. The Stanford prison experiment was originally conceived to last two weeks but was called off after just six days considering the state of participant’s. It was observed that within twenty-four hours of the study’s start, the students who were playing the guards began humiliating and psychologically abusing the prisoners. Consequently, the prisoners became submissive and suffered mental breakdowns. As the experiment had gone out of control so it was called off after six days on the insistence of Christina Maslach, a former graduate student.

In my opinion Conflict theory offers the best understanding of the phenomenon at play in the Stanford Prison Experiment. Conflict theorist views social life as a competition due to limited resources. The conflict theory focuses on the distribution of resources, power, and inequality. In the Stanford Prison Experiment, the social structure demonstrates the power of statuses and roles in shaping behaviour. The experiment observes that not everyone reacts in a similar manner to the common social structure and are capable of being inhumane. For conflict theorist also called Marxist, individuals and groups or social classes within society interact on the basis of conflict rather than consensus.