Research Paper on European Culture, Zimbardo's Theory and Enslavement

One of the most well-known social psychology experiments ever, the Stanford Prison Experiment examined how quickly participants adapted to established social roles. During the six days of the experiment, originally meaning to be 14, participants were humiliated, dehumanized, and were stripped of their independence by guards. They became distressed and agitated, as the guards became increasingly hostile and manipulative. From the Stanford Experiment, Zimbardo’s Theory emerged, which theorizes that an established system can produce certain behaviors from certain groups. This experiment illustrates just a sliver of what occurred during the institution of slavery, which exemplifies Zimbardo’s theory. The guards were their group as prisoners were their own, which compares to white enslavers as their group and enslaved Africans as a separate group. The institution of slavery created a system in which white enslavers in power were compelled to exercise power in a dehumanizing manner towards enslaved Africans, due to beliefs of superiority based on culture. 

The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano is a firsthand account of the slave trade from the perspective of a former slave. Equiano describes his journey from getting kidnapped from his home to obtaining freedom. During this time he saw the mistreatment, dehumanization, and despair of enslaved Africans. The similarities between the Stanford Experiment and Equiano’s narrative are apparent. One example is the accounts of cruel punishments used. For instance, when one enslaved man attempted to run away his “Christian master immediately pinned the wretch down to the ground at each wrist and ancle, and then took some sticks of sealing wax, and lighted them, and droped it all over his back”. Equiano also wrote of other accounts, such as whippings, beatings, and enslaved persons being thrown off the ship. During the Stanford Experiment, no forms of punishment were allowed, but soon guards implemented pushups as punishment. This in no way compares to the abuse enslaved Africans were put through, but it shows how a person in power with no repercussions is likely to use physical force as a means of control. Another example is reprisal to this injustice. Equiano accounts “Another negro man was half hanged, and then burnt, for attempting to poison a cruel overseer . . . by repeated cruelties are the wretched first urged to despair, and then murdered, because they still retain so much of human nature about them as to wish to put an end to their misery, and retaliate on their tyrants!”. This compares to a “prison rebellion” that occurred during the Stanford Experiment. Prisoners ripped off their identification numbers and barricaded themselves inside their cells. Once again, this doesn’t compare to the experiences of enslaved people, but it shows how the oppressed are likely to retaliate and object to the treatment they are receiving. In the Stanford Experiment, there was a social distinction separating the guards and the prisoners. The same occurred during the institution of slavery. 

European culture, a large part being Christianity, played a large role in dividing enslaved Africans from white enslavers. Through their cultural perspective, Europeans saw enslaved Africans to be physically deformed, having the curse of God on them, to be liars, thieves, and lecherous. There was a general view that African culture and mannerisms were inferior to the Europeans. This can be seen by noting made by Colonel Francis Nicholson, in which he says “The negroes born in this country are generally baptized and brought up in the Christian religion, but for negroes imported hither, the gross bestiality and rudeness of their manners, the variety and strangeness of their languages, and the weakness and shallowness of their minds, render it in a manner impossible to make any progress in their conversion”. This pushed some Europeans to believe that enslavement was needed for Africans to receive liberation. With this type of thought and justification, it is evident that European culture was perceived as superior. Combined with the unrestrained power white enslavers had over enslaved Africans, white enslavers were socially justified to barter, deed, devise, pledge, and seize slaves.

European culture affecting the divide between enslaved Africans and white enslavers is also shown through the enslaved perspective. One example is On Being Brought from Africa by Phillis Wheatly. Wheatley writes “'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand . . . Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain, May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.' ' Though this poem is satirical and ironic, it shows how enslaved Africans were seen as inferior due to their skin color and religion. Both of these being different from the European norm. Another quote that shows this is from Equiano. “When they (Africans) come among Europeans, they are ignorant of their language, religion, manners, and customs . . . What advantages do not a refined people possess over those who are rude and uncultivated?... Did Nature make them inferior to their sons? and should they too have been made slaves?”. This quote shows how culture was a large part of the divide as well, and how African culture was seen as “uncultivated” and “unrefined”. This social fabrication is dehumanizing and emotionally damaging, which enslaved people then retaliated against by forming rebellions or by running away. 

The institution of slavery created a system in which European culture was seen as superior to African culture, which divided the two into two social groups. Following Zimbardo's Theory, each social group had its own set of behaviors. The white enslavers, believing themselves to be superior, exercised their beliefs and power in ways they saw fit, including physical and emotional harm. Enslaved Africans in return were the recipients of this physical emotional abuse, which created rebellion amongst some groups. This relationship dynamic continued during the institution of enslavement, creating a cycling power struggle between the two groups which eventually led to dispute and conflict.