You Are a Professor at a University Who Believes the Zimbardo

question 38

Essay

You are a professor at a university who believes the Zimbardo experiment was a fluke, and the evidence was tainted by the participation of the professor and the fact that he only chose male guards. Discuss the changes you would make to the experiment, how you would ethically enact it, and what lessons you would hope to be able to impart to correctional professionals.

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Definitions:

Extroversion

A personality trait typified by outgoingness, high energy, and a preference for social interaction.

Phrenologist

A practitioner of phrenology, a now-discredited study and theory which posited that the bumps on the skull could predict mental traits and character.

Personality

The combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

Dimensional Approach

A method in psychology that quantifies a person's symptoms or behaviors along a continuum rather than categorizing them into binary states.