Stanford Prison Experiment

Bibliography

What was the purpose?

• To study the psychological effect of becoming a prisoner, or a prison guard.

• Weather the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards or had more to do with the environment of the prison.

By: Haymanot Eshetu, Micheal Brown, Angelina DiazdeLeon

• http://www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html

• http://www.psychologistworld.com/influence_personality/stanfordprison.php

• http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/stanford-prison-experiment.htm

• http://www.bbcprisonstudy.org/bbc-prison-study.php?p=17

• https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=40741

• http://www.prisonexp.org

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

Stanford Prison Experiment

Types of conditioning?

Background

• Classical conditioning - learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus!
• Operant conditioning - When new behaviors are learned, through reinforcement.

Results of volunteers

Do the ends justify the means

• Conducted in 1971 By Philip Zimbardo with the help of others in the basement of the Stanford Psychology Department.

• Volunteers were randomly selected to play the roles of guard and prisoners in a mock up of a prison (Stanford basement).

• Within a while The prisoners became dependent and submissive while the guards became sadistic and dangerous with their actions, the experiment became genuinely dangerous and Psychologically damaging.

Guards

• Brought out their sick sadistic ways

Prisoners

• Early replacement of prisoners, way too traumatised.
• Uncontrollable crying, screaming and very disorganized thinking.

It’s in the middle when it comes to it justifying the means, yes it does but then it does not. This was ethical because it allows us to get an idea of what ex- prisoners have talked about when it came to how the guards act. Also it is not ethical because during the study Zimbardo did not think of the outcome. When everything was over the students who played the prisoners started to have depression. While this study was happening many of them felt like they were belittled and could not stand up for themselves.

Theory of Operant conditioning

1st day: 3

2nd day: 5

3rd day: 7

4th day: 8

5th day: 9

6th day: 10

Was there a learning theory?

• Rebellion amongst the prisoners were met with the fire extinguishers being used by the guards against the rebels.

• Punishments issued in the form of a push up when rules were not obeyed.

• solitary confinement

• Learning theories - conceptual frameworks describing how information is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed, and knowledge and skills retained.

• Its basically saying that all behaviors are learned through conditioning!

Ethical vs Unethical

Conclusions

• What the system is creating in prison.
• Showing what happens when people are in charge.
• $15 a day for each person (guard and prisoners).
• Was proved by an institution.
• The APA concluded that all existing ethical guidelines had been followed.
• In his book ‘ The Lucifer Effect ’ Professor Zimbardo wrote: "I was guilty of the sin of omission -- the evil of inaction -- of not
• providing adequate oversight and surveillance when it was required... the findings came at the expense of human suffering. I am sorry for that and to this day apologize for contributing to this inhumanity." (pp. 181, 235)

• None of the participants who acted as guards showed sadistic tendencies before the study.

• The “prison environment was an important factor.

• It made the “Guards” act inhumane and sadistic, and the “prisoners” very submissive and complying.

• Not including what this experiment could possibly do.
• Guards were insulting prisoners and handing them petty orders.
• Guards harassing prisoners and encouraging others to join in.
• People suffered!
• No protection from Psychological harm.
• Allowed to inflict pain and utter humiliation!
• Zimbardo himself did not know what would happen.