The Stanford prison experiment and Abu Ghraib

A parallel can be drawn between the Stanford Prison Experiment and the issue of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. The Stanford Prison Experiment shows that in isolated constitutions, the ones in charge show their dominance over the captives. This process can lead to brutal and often inhumane acts being perpetrated on the captives.

The Stanford Prison experiment shows evidence of this. The guards show their superiority by forcing the prisoners to do push ups, by throwing them in isolation bins, and even by setting up a reward system in which, the most compliant person got to sleep on a proper bed. All these acts convey to the prisoners that they are inferior. These acts give the guards the feeling and the ego that they are definitely in control and dominant over the prisoners.

Basically, in Abu Ghraib, what the soldiers were doing, was showing their dominance and superiority over the prisoners. The notion that they were in control gave them the power and will to commit the horrific acts. One more factor that helped to aggravate the situation was the agreement of Donald Rumsfeld. He gave permission to use harsh interrogation techniques in the prison. I believe that the lack of fear of consequence and the necessity to portray their dominance led to the horrific acts at Abu Ghraib prison.