Interdisciplinary Studies on the Human Condition
conditioning is, but it can also explain the fears that we find irrational as adults. Another experiment that could show manipulation makes the effort to mix the element of power with that of submissiveness. Philip Zimbardo’s experiment, The Stanford Prison Experiment, took place in the basement of the Faculty of Psychology, which was decorated very realistically to give the impression of absolute control. The students, who believed to be mentally established, were given various roles, as guards and prisoners. This experiment was to take place over a two-week period in which the guards were not allowed to physically abuse. The experiment ended early because the guards, “normal” students, were exercising their power in a nefarious way, verbally abusing and making the student inmates submissive and malleable. This experiment shows how abuse of power can create acceptance of either physical, verbal, mental, or emotional abuse that is “acceptable” because the people experiencing it are fearful. When we are afraid, we have a fight or flight response and more recently studied, freezing response. In an abusive situation, where our lives are not endangered and where we cannot escape, we usually freeze as a defense mechanism. With the intention for our brain to survive mentally, as a result the so-called Stockholm Syndrome can be formed. This usually takes place when a victim cannot escape, but in many cases if a person feels stuck, he or she begins to believe his or her abuser or abusive situation is beneficial, making the victim so many times easier to manipulate. However, in a political or religious regime, fear cannot be the only method of control. If you don’t take people, citizens from an early age, the leader will have to give them the impression of a viable alternative. This gives a spirit of freedom, which is the fundamental necessity and right of man. Kant considers freedom essential for morality and responsibility, it is the possibility of following moral rules through reason. Thus, fear is not enough, people must believe that your decisions as a leader are capable and for their benefit, but at the same time they must be afraid of what
32
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting