The Stanford Prison Experiment

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Is this experiment valid?

Demand characteristics could explain the findings of the study. Most of the guards later claimed they were simply acting. Because the guards and prisoners were playing a role, their behavior may not be influenced by the same factors which affect behavior in real life. This means the study's findings cannot be reasonably generalized to real life, such as prison settings. Basically the study has low ecological validity.

Effects?

Impact

Overall, the experiment showed us how the world is broken, and how dangerous, the system truly is, and what people are capable of within its structure of power and powerlessness.

Within a very short time both guards and prisoners were settling into their new roles, with the guards adopting theirs quickly and easily. The prisoners were taunted with insults and petty orders, they were given pointless and boring tasks to accomplish, and they were generally dehumanized.

Within 3 days prisoner 8612 began suffering from emotional disturbance, disorganized thinking, uncontrollable crying, and rage.

Purpose

Findings?

Which people were selected?

The psychologist Zimbardo wanted to find out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards or had more to do with the prison environment.

An ad was displayed asking for volunteers, 75 people answered. These people were given personality tests to take away factors such as psychological problems, medical disabilities, aggressive history. The 24 selected participants were the most physically and mentally stable were randomly assigned the role of prisoner or guard.’

The prison experiment revealed how people will conform to social roles they are expected to play. Furthermore, Deindividuation may explain the behavior of the participants; especially the guards. This is a state when you become so immersed in the norms of the group that you lose your sense of identity and personal responsibility. Also, learned helplessness could explain the prisoner's submission to the guards. The prisoners learned that whatever they did had little effect on what happened to them. Most of the guards found it difficult to believe that they had behaved in the brutalizing ways that they had.

How it was set up?

Prisoners were treated like every other criminal, being arrested at their own homes, without warning, and taken to the local police station. They were fingerprinted, photographed and ‘booked.’ When they arrived at the prison, they were stripped naked, issued a uniform and referred to their number only. All the guards were dressed identically and wore sunglasses to make eye contact impossible.