Tachion

I don't know if anyone here is familiar with this:
http://www.prisonexp.org/slide-1.htm


Basically it was an attempt to understand what happens to both prisoners and the guards when a person is subjected to prison conditions.

An interesting study in human behavior.

I feel it shows what is inherently wrong with the concept of imprisonment, if the point is to reform the 'criminal'.

xepherys

All I can really say is wow... that's incredible!

rhaevyn

We learned about and discussed this experiment in my psychology class last semester. It was scary how easily the "guards" got into their roles.

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xepherys

I almost think it's a bit more scary how easily the "prisoners" got into their roles. Power is an easy thing for many humans to take advantage of. But being a prisoner has no advantages, per se. Being in the military and having gone through Army BCT, I do understand the process of being broken down. When I went in, I was older (25) than most and a bit out of shape. I was 100% confident in my ability to handle the emotional aspects of it, but only about 50% in my ability to handle the physical. In fact, it turned out much the opposite. I was able to comply with the physical demands, even as they became ever more taxing. However, after just a few weeks, the emotional "breaking down" really started to take hold. It's truly an amazing thing to be a part of.

Siege

Studied it in psychology. Scary results.

Personally, I would've liked to have seen what I would of done as a prisoner. It's easy for me to say that I would've just left the experiment, but who knows.

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This part just makes my posts easier to find

thesupermikey

it wasnt just the guards, but the guy running the program who was acting as the 'warden' also found himself getting into it.

right after the prison abuse in iraq came out 2 years ago, i just kept thinking of this, and i always wondered why this never came up in the news disscussions

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xepherys

Because news agencies and most journalists don't really research much anymore. It's sad. The wire is finally killing the reporter

Elphaba

Zimbardo's experiment would never be allowed today, and there has been much criticism of his methodology and his lack of overview. I interned briefly with his wife, Christina Maslach, in the '80's, so I find it interesting that she is listed as one of the contributors.

Given that this is Zimbardo's website and is dedicated to his failed experiment, I would strongly recommend that everyone seek out other professional opinions regarding his prison research. Your opinion might change if you do. My opinion (sorry, Christina) is that this experiment was botched from the beginning, but Zimbardo has a vested interest in perpetuating his one claim to fame.

Gilda

Yeah, it was highly flawed from the beginning. The guards were given no training, had little to no supervision, had virtually no set rules and procedures they were to follow, instead basically making things up as they went along, and thus were not accountable for their behavior.

In short, the situation couldn't have been a better setup to encourage bullying and abuse.

If anyone's interested, theres a German movie very loosely based on this experiment, The Experiment.

Gilda

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Elphaba

Thanks, Gilda. The choice of "volunteers" was highly suspect as well.

Tachion

No matter what the original intent of the project was I still think the results are real. That is the average person can be quickly and easily turned into something you would not recognise in a very short period of time when one is given power over another.

So one can say the experiment was 'flawed' on some academic premise but the results still say a lot. Their actions and reactions are clearly documented so at the very least we have a look into what can happen in a particular type of prison environment. I don't beleive they where trying to say all prisons are like this.

Unless you are saying they where 'acting' by saying volunteers where 'suspect' I don't see how this experiment is not a valid look into a particular aspect of the human condition.

Do you not believe this condition could arise in real life?

Elphaba

Tachion, in an uncontrolled situation there is the possibility of repeating Zimbardo's result. The result of his study does not apply to most, if not all, prison systems in the United States. If you are hoping to extend his prison study to Gitmo, Iraq, or Afghanistan, I would ask you to take a closer look at his work and the criticisms that followed by Zimbardo's peers.

Tachion

I would, at the very least, be surprised that any existing prison system produced the exact opposite results. ie happy and well adjusted prisoners and guards.

I do feel the study makes a strong case to rethink what our prisons systems do actually accomplish.

The study should be a wake-up call.

SecretMethod70

Let's not get all "Philip Zimbardo sucks" here. The Stanford Prison Experiment was, no doubt, a tragic error. But, Zimbardo is, without question, a brilliant mind in psychology. Indeed, if he wasn't, he wouldn't have been named the president of the American Psychological Association. It is easy to harshly criticize his methods in the prison experiment, but part of the reason there are more precise rules for methodology in psychological experiments is because of that very experiment.

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sailor

Ditto. A lot of good came out of that experiment. Scientifically valid? Maybe not. Very influential, especially to the ethics of social experiments? Absolutely.

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Elphaba

I don't believe anyone was claiming "Zimbardo sucks." Where do you see that, SM?

MSD

The experiment was testing an uncontrolled variable with independent variables introduced that are little, if at all, like the real-life ones to which they correspond. Prisoners were forced to wear womens' clothing and not allowed to wear underwear, they could not use their names, they were blindfolded, and were not allowed to engage in activities that normal prisoners would be allowed to. Zimbardo directed the experiment toward the result he wanted by acting as the head of the prison and instructing participants to act like theri preconcieved notions of what guards and prisoners were like rather than recieving training.

It is highly unlikely that a controlled experiment would yield results similar to Zimbardo's. I consider the Milgram experiment to be a much better measure of human capacity for cruelty and willingness to submit to authority.