The zimbardo study was revolutionary in its ability to reproduce the captor-inmate relationship and to model the behavior of the victims and the individuals with power.
It could be expected that the students posing as prison guards would adopt the mindset of enforcement. What is so shocking about the findings of the Zimbardo study is the speed at which the students adopted their roles in the prison and the obedience/ zeal which the students showed in their respective positions.
Im scared because the study makes it seem like in any situation, where there is an approving authority figure (the prison superintendent) people will attempt to do anything. As seen in Abu Ghraib, soldiers were willing to perform acts which clearly were of an evil nature, which were precisely prohibited in the Geneva conventions. Against their understanding of right and wrong, these soldiers went through with torturing numerous inmates, without provocation and illegally.
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