...Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment PSYCH/620 May 31, 2015 Dr. Al Clark Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment Dr. Phillip Zimbardo of Stanford University led a team of researchers to conduct a social experiment on the effects of imposed social roles in the penal system. Internal dispositions changed to adapt to the confinement of the prison. The behavior observed of the participants was morally repugnant and apprehensible in response to role of authority. Participants assigned to a prisoner role broke down in response to captivity. The study focused on behavioral attributes that attributed sadistic behavior to the prison environment opposed to an innate tendency towards a cruel personality (Zimbardo, 2007). The impact of Dr. Zimbardo’s study on social psychology Dr. Zimbardo’s classic psychological study relating to the psychological effects of the prisoner and prison guard relationship was momentous to social psychology. The study was influential to social psychology in the way that we were able to understand the circumstances that enable a normal, caring individual to carryout sadistic acts. Zimbardo’s prison experiment was a prison simulation based on Milgram’s research on obedience to authority. The study confirmed notions on how situations could completely corrupt human behavior (Stanley, 2006). Relevance of the Study in Relation to Contemporary World Issues The experiment influenced...
Words: 674 - Pages: 3
...To what extent can Zimbardo’s experiment help to explain the abuse that occurs in prison e.g. Abu Ghraib (12 marks) The Stanford Prison Experiment was a landmark psychological study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances. It was conducted in 1971 by Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University. The Stanford experiment is the study human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life. Participants were randomly assigned to play the role of "prisoner" or "guard". Those assigned to play the role of guard were given sticks and sunglasses; those assigned to play the Prisoners were arrested at their own homes, without warning, and taken to the local police station and, forced to wear chains and prison clothes, and transported to the basement of the Stanford psychology department, which had been converted into a jail. Several of the guards became progressively more sadistic particularly at night when they thought the cameras were off. The experiment quickly got out of hand and a riot broke out on day two. One prisoner developed a psychosomatic rash all over his body upon finding out that his "parole" had been turned down. After only 6 days, the experiment was shut down; for fear that one of the prisoners would be seriously hurt. Although the intent of the experiment was to examine prison life, the results is used to demonstrate how people are more likely to mistreat people when provided with a legitimizing...
Words: 636 - Pages: 3
...The Prison of Marriage Each morning that we wake up, life presents us with many choices. Some people are conscious of these choices, others are not. Whether one is a college student in search of a major or the man in line at a deli, the opportunity for decision seems solely one’s own. However, the surrounding factors of that person’s life will inevitably affect the decision at hand. Often, without knowing it, we are placed in a role that life, in general, expects us to fulfill. Once we find ourselves in a role, it is difficult to displace ourselves from it, and as a result, we rely on this role to aid us in our decisions. Professor of psychology Philip K. Zimbardo finds that people are obedient in accepting roles assigned by others. Zimbardo’s “Stanford Prison Experiment” discusses male college students placed in a prison experiment and assigned the role of either “prisoner” of “guard.” Zimbardo claims to have “sought to understand more about the process by which people called ‘prisoners’ lose their liberty, civil rights, independence and privacy, while those called ‘guards’ gain social power by accepting the responsibility for controlling and managing the lives of their dependent charges” (365). Zimbardo concludes that the roles of guard and prisoner can be seen in many realms of life. Zimbardo suggests that sexism, racism, and shyness are, for many people, prisons of the mind. Furthermore, Zimbardo feels that marriage can be described as a prison: The physical institution...
Words: 1741 - Pages: 7
...corporations funded a what they called, “prison experiment” in 1971, with a goal of finding that the prison environment produces aggressive attitudes? Zimbardo conducted this experiment in the basement of the Psychology department at Stanford University. He took regular everyday college students like you and I made some prisoners and some guards, locked them up in a very small area, and evaluated their behaviors. The question is, how were the guards and the prisoners distinguished between? Now this is where the word evil comes in. In order to make the environment a real “evil” environment the guards wore hats and badges while the prisoners wore nothing but frowsy dresses. This was Zimbardo’s bright idea of an evil environment. So, does perception come into play? Does what each person perceives as evil environments make for a trustworthy study, setting out to support such a claim? Ultimately, did Zimbardo adequately reconstruct a fair representation of a true prison setting or did Zimbardo exaggerate that too? Well, according to two documentary professionals, this study did support that evil environments produces evil behaviors stated not only by Ratnesar’s, but also by Sheere. The funding corporations were kept a secret from the general public for more than 20 years. Just recently on July 4, 2011 a man named Michael Barker put the secret out. He wrote about it in a three part article written on the subject that the Stanford Prison Experiment was flawed in many ways. Why would...
Words: 3220 - Pages: 13
...the president; no matter how big or small, each individual plays a crucial role in functioning everyday life. Stanley Milgram’s, “The Perlis of Obedience” and Philip Zimbardo’s, “The Stanford Prison Experiment” both show when humans are given a specific role; they will compete to meet the expectations given to them by their authoritative figure. In the movie, A Few Good Men, both Milgram and Zimbardo’s experiments simplified the actions shown by the soldiers. The movie A Few Good Men relates to the experiments by exemplifying that the expectations of one’s role, leads to obedience of authority. In “The Perlis of Obedience,” Milgram was interested to see how far...
Words: 1262 - Pages: 6
...Sociology and psychology go hand in hand in some aspects and this can be seen explicitly in the experiments zimbardo’s Stanford Prison, and Milgram’s study on obedience. These experements, although unethical, provide a clear glimpse into a human’s obedience toward authority and conforming into social roles. Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison was an experiments by Philip G. Zembardo to see if and how readily people would conform to the roles given to them in a guard and prisoner setting. The experiment was kept as real as possible by going so far as to have the participents arrested, booked, and transported to a mock prison build in the Stanford psychology building’s basement. In aditon to the arrest they were stiped naked, relieved of their possesions, delouced, and given a set of prison cloths with only a number to symbolize them, and had a chain tied around their anckle to remind them of their captivity. Ultimately the participandtss began to conform the...
Words: 417 - Pages: 2
...The Stanford prison experiment was a study held at Stanford University by Professor Philip Zimbardo, to study the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or a prison guard. The expirament was conducted from August 14 to August 20 of 1971 by a team of researchers led by psychology Zimbardo, and funded by the US Office of Naval Research because it was an interest of both the US Navy and Marine Corps as an investigation into the causes of conflict between military guards and prisoners. In the expirement, twenty-four male students out of 75 were selected to take on a randomly assigned role of either prisoner and or guard in a mock prison situation. This mock prison was set up in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. The participants quickly adapted to their roles, exceding Zimbardo’s expectations. Within the first few days, the guards started to enforce authoritarian measures and ultimately subjected some of the prisoners to psychological torture. However, falling into their role, many of the prisoners accepted psychological abuse. This brainwashing got to the point where, at the request of the guards, the prisoners would readily harass other prisoners who attempted to rebel against or question the guards authority. However, the guards and prisoners were not the only ones who were effected by the experiment. Even Zimbardo himself, was effected. In his role as the superintendent, he permitted the abuse to continue. These harsh and hostile surroundings caused two of...
Words: 445 - Pages: 2
...The Stanford Prison Experiment California State University, Long Beach The Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford Prison Experiment is a very thought-provoking topic discussed in various classes. Professor and psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted this experiment through Stanford University. Twenty-four men were randomly selected to participate in a simulated prison environment and were given roles as prisoners or prison guards. This was done to challenge the moral compass of “good” individuals in a negative environment, which in this case was a prison. Surprisingly, the participants truly embodied their roles. Throughout the experiment, the prison guards enforced their authoritarian power and tormented the prisoners both mentally and physically. Despite being the conductor of the experiment, Zimbardo also played a role as the superintendent of the prison. The Stanford Prison Experiment was significant due to its controversial nature and continued discussion in the classroom. The experiment itself was a form of field research. According to Kendall (2014), field research develops “a fuller understanding… through observations, face-to-face discussions, and participation in events.” Ultimately, a field study is an experiment that takes place outside the laboratory. It incorporates observation and interviews of individuals in a more “natural” setting in order to gather qualitative data. The Stanford Prison experiment consisted of all of these characteristics. Additionally...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...Who we areDon’t be shy! Let them know how great you are. This is the back cover of your booklet, so it’s one of the first and last things the recipient sees.It’s a great place for your ‘elevator pitch.’ If you only had a few seconds to pitch your products or services to someone, what would you say?Consider including a couple of key takeaways on this back cover…Just remember that this is marketing—if you want to grab their attention, keep it brief, friendly, and readable.Contact UsIf you have a physical location, provide brief directional information, such as highways or landmarks:[Street Address] [City, ST ZIP Code] Phone: [Telephone]Email: [Email address]Web: [Web address] | | [Company Name][Street Address] [City, ST ZIP Code] | | | | | Ethical Issues when researching in health and social care | | | [Company Name][Subtitle] | | Table of ContentsOverview of Programs 1Getting Started 2What to Include 2Focus on What You Do Best 2Don’t Forget the Mission 3Make It Your Own 4Customize in Almost No Time 4Make It Picture Perfect 4Our Products and Services 5 | | | | | | | Why should ethical issues be followed and why are they important? Ethics issues in research are important because they should be considered in order to protect the safety of those involved in the study. In this way, a participant’s information will not be shared to anyone and will be kept confidential. The ethical issues should be followed so that it doesn’t harm a person nor...
Words: 2002 - Pages: 9
...To start, both of these experiments are quite disturbing and yet interesting as to how people react or act in situations if given the opportunity. I actually looked up the Milgram and the Zimbardo experiments. I watched videos of both actually. I think Milgram wanted to prove that the prison guards, doctors, etc..., did not necessarily think that they were to blame for the atrocities that occurred in concentration camps, but were in their minds “just following orders”. In his experiments people issued shocks to others in increasing intervals of strength without any concern for the pain being inflicted. They were just following orders. Zimbardo turned a Stanford University Basement into a prison with half the participants as guards and the other half as inmates. The level of cruelty that the “guards” sank to is truly amazing. Both sides of the experiment literally assimilated to the roles given. It is my belief that the subjects in these experiments used the position of following orders or authority to let the ID free and do things they would never consider in normal society with rules and laws. In Milgram’s study the ones issuing the shocks probably did enjoy or get pleasure from what they were doing. Literally they let the “order” to shock someone give them pleasure. It would be interesting to know if any of the “shockers” had become sexually excited during this experiment. Zimbardo’s experiment really shows how the ego was affected by the experiment. Guards became abusive and...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
...research experiment. There was a $15 per day compensation offered to the chosen participants. There were roughly 75 people to respond to the professors ad. However there were only 25 chosen to participate in the experiment needed for a study of prison life. Zimbardo designed his experiment to go the duration of 15 days. The men who were selected to participate in the experiment were separated into two groups, the prisoners in one group, guards in the other. Zimbardo informed them all their rights would be violated and they were to be harassed. Phillip K. Zimbardo’s reason for conducting the Stanford Prison experiment was to expand upon Milgram’s research. It was Zimbardo’s desire to further investigate the impact of situational variables on human behavior. According to Christian perspective with this study we as followers of Jesus Christ should avoid being disrespectful, confrontational and dehumanizing to one another no matter one’s current social situation(s). We should approach one another with an open mind and not judging one another for our sins or wrong doings. Approaching the situations when enforcing rules is one thing but to put one down, break ones’ spirits are not Christ like. The Stanford Prison Experiment would not be allowed to be conducted today, well at least I don’t believe so. The Stanford Experiment has been proven to be an important and valuable lesson learned in the study of psychology. From an ethical standpoint the Stanford Prison Experiment did...
Words: 690 - Pages: 3
...“Quiet Rage”, psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted a prison experiment at Stanford University aiming to gain knowledge in regards to the development of norms, roles, labels, and social expectations in a prison environment. Throughout this experiment Zimbardo lost control of the situation as the participants lost their own identities and became greatly involved with the roles that they were expected to act upon. As a result Zimbardo had to terminate the experiment before the study was completed due to unethical issues. The experiment was unethical, but it was a necessity in order to have acquired this beneficial knowledge that we possess today even though the trade off was inappropriate for the participants. Numerous reasons exist to why the experiment has violated the ethical standards. For example, the students who had played the role of prisoners were treated unethically by forcing them to clean the toilet with their bare hands, and were placed in total confinement of spaces that were only standing room for more than 24hrs. But why would the prisoners blindly follow the guards? According to Giddens, the size of a group affects the “quality of interaction and the capability of the group in accomplishing certain tasks” (Giddens 132). The more the prisoners the more likely they would conform to the guards even though the orders were harsh and unethical. One study that supports the theory of conformity was the experiment Asch Task, where participants were shown one standard...
Words: 676 - Pages: 3
...Module: Risk Management and Assurance ACCT 627 Introduction The Lucifer effect describes Philip Zimbardo’s experiment in 1971 in which college students under took the roles of guards and prisoners in a study that was originally intended to examine how prisoners would adapt to prison life. However, the study took on a different focus as the behaviour of the guards (and authoritative figures) become a key point of interest. Before the study commenced, participants were dutifully screened for abnormal psychological traits and were randomly assigned the roles of prisoners and guards. The experiment was to be conducted over two weeks with Zimbardo himself dual hatting as a prison supervisor and that of a researcher. Steps were taken conceal the identities of the guards, to create a sense of anonymity and deindividuation. The students were not given any form of training on how to perform as normal prison guard and rules were poorly defined. As part of the study process, the counts sessions were simply intended as a role call and to ensure that the prisoners were made aware of their identification numbers and the rules. However, the count sessions very quickly became abusive from the first day. The sessions went beyond the intended duration, during which prisoners were humiliated, physically abused, psychologically weakened and punished without reason. At one point, the abuse even turned sexual in nature. As a result of the rapid escalation of abuse, the study was terminated...
Words: 1831 - Pages: 8
...Name of Science: A detailed Comparison Between Milgram and Zimbardo’s Internationally Renowned Attempts at Ethics in Social Science Experiments David Baxter Park University SO220 Ethical Issues in Social Science Kris Reichart-Anderson 2 October 2011 Abstract For years many experiments have been scrutinized for their ineffective use or lack of establishment of ethical principles within their research. Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram’s Obedience experiment were ridiculed for the lack of ethics involved. Although these experiments caused unnecessary harm to their subjects they also acted as the foundation for the establishment of the Belmont Report, which in itself, would change research forever. Ethics in the Name of Science Two very controversial experiments have been dissected a thousand times over by some of social science’s most amazing minds as well as the academic populous worldwide. Though the Milgram experiment of 1962 and the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971 were entirely different, they both shared the groundbreaking task of identifying the affects of “Obedience to Authority” (Milgram, 1974). Both social scientists believe they had identified the possible risks but fell short in their attempt to alleviate any ethical repercussions. This paper will address the attempts made to ensure moral and ethical studies were accomplished as well as identify where both experiments had major flaws in their plans to ensure no physical or emotional...
Words: 1337 - Pages: 6
...psychology experiment that was done by Philip Zimbardo; the experiment was called The Stanford Prison Experiment. The goal of Philip’s experiment was to look at the impact of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. “The Stanford Prison Experiment, one of the most controversial studies in the history of social psychology (Konnikova, 2015).” Philip and his colleagues set up a simulated prison in the basement of Stanford University's psychology building. They then looked over a list of 70 volunteers to screen for ones that were best fit for the experiment. Out of the 70 volunteers, 24 were picked; the screening picked those 24 “because they had no criminal background, lacked psychological issues,...
Words: 423 - Pages: 2
