Stanford Prison Experiment

The article on the Stanford Prison Experiment titled, A Study of Prisoners and Guards in a Simulated Prison and written by the Office of Naval Research, provides us with the overall information that deals with this controversial psychological study. The study was conducted by

Dr Philip Zimbardo created the Stanford prison experiment in 1971, the aim of this experiment was to find out the psychological effects of prison life, and to what extent can moral people be seduced to act immorally. The study consisted of 24 students selected out of 75, the roles of these 24 men were randomly assigned, 12 to play prison guards and 12 to play prisoners. The prison set up was built inside the Stanford’s psychological department, doors where taken of laboratory rooms and replaced with steel bars in order to create cells. At the end of the corridor was the small opening which became the solitary confinement for the ‘bad prisoners’. Throughout the prison there were no windows or clocks to judge the passage in time, which resulted in time distorting experiences. After only a few hours, the participants adapted to their roles well beyond expectations, the officers starting

The Stanford Prison Experiment sought to recreate a prison experience to study behaviors of prisoners and guards. The authors were seeking answers to the question of dispositional hypothesis which states “that the state of the social institution of prison is due to the “nature” of the people who administer it, or the “nature” of the people who populate it, or both” (A Study of Prisoners and Guards in a Stimulated Prison, 1971, pg. 2). In other words, they were studying whether the prisoners and guards behaviors changed due to their personalities or was it the prison environment that caused these changes. The authors considered the recidivism rate that was 75 percent at the time, conditions in prisons, and the belief that prisons

In 1971, psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues created the experiment known as the Stanford Prison Experiment. Zimbardo wanted to investigate further into human behavior, so he created this experiment that looked at the impact of taking the role of a prisoner or prison guard. These researchers examined how the participants would react when placed in an institutionalized prison environment. They set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology building. Twenty four undergraduate students were selected to play the roles of both prisoners and guards. These students were chosen because they were emotional, physically, and mentally stable. Though the experiment was expected to last two weeks, it only lasted six days after the researchers and participants became aware of the harm that was being done.

Zimbardo decided to run an experiment where he would turn a basement under the Stanford campus into a mock prison where he would interview several participants where they would randomly get assigned either guard, or prisoner. Zimbardo aimed to see how everyone pertained the roles they were placed in. Interviewing 75 potential participants, Zimbardo only chose 24 male college students which they received payments of $15/day. They had two reserves in which were the back-ups just in case any of them wanted to drop out. The prison simulation was kept as real as possible. The participants were “arrested” taken to the police station booked, finger printed, and photographed. Then being blindfolded they were taken back to the campus in the basement where Zimbardo created the mock prison with real barred doors and windows along with bare walls with small cells. Once the “prisoners” arrived, they were stripped naked and given the prison clothes and bedding. The prisoners had their own number which they were only referred to. They wore just a smock with no clothes under along with a nylon cap and a chain around their ankle. Guards were given a stereotypical khaki outfit with whistles, handcuffs, and mirrored glasses working 8 hour shifts a day with three people working each shift. Physical violence was not permitted to the guards. Observing the behaviors of the guards and prisoners, Zimbardo realized how everyone was

Psychologists have been interested in the famous Stanford Prison Experiment for decades. A vast amount of information can be taken from this short six-day study. In retrospect, we are able to observe the ethical issues within the study. From this, we are able to identify what should not be done in a study. It also enabled Zimbardo’s research team to see how realistic effects could be placed upon those in this mock prison.

The year was 1971 and no one was ready for the results that the study, known as the Stanford Prison Experiment would conduct (Whitbourne). A test subject’s fate was determined by the flip of a coin, twelve prison guards and twelve prisoners (Zimbardo). Now that Zimbardo knew he had test subjects, he assembled a team to begin construction of the “Stanford County Jail.” With the help of a former imprisoned convict, the prison was built to be as realistic as possible. Zimbardo said, “The Prison was constructed by boarding up each end of a corridor in the basement of Stanford’s psychology department building (Zimbardo). That corridor was the ‘yard’ and was the only outside place where prisoners would

UNDERSTANDING THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT 1 Understanding The Stanford Prison Experiment: Goals Assumptions And Criticisms Andrew Scott Moore University Of Phoenix UNDERSTANDING THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT 2 Abstract Focusing on the struggle between prisoners and prison guards, "The Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) was designed to investigate the psychological effects of perceived power.” The Stanford Prison Experiment was an understanding of power held and of power lost, at the time, as a way to understanding the complexities caused by the understandings between Guards an Prisoners.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was a study conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971 to observe the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or a guard (“Setting Up,” n.d.). 24 male college students were chosen to participate in this study and they were randomly selected to be either a prisoner or a guard. The prisoners were treated like actual criminals, being arrested and taken to “prison” (the basement of Stanford University set up to resemble a jail), while guards were to keep the prisoners in line and make sure they followed all the rules set forth. It did not take long for the participants to settle into their roles: the guards becoming aggressive and abusive and the prisoners showing anxiety, stress, and depression. This experiment violated

The Office of Naval Research sponsored The Stanford Prison Experiment in an attempt to provide answers to some of the elemental problems within the prison system. Namely, whether guards, prisoners or both harbor any of the blame for the oppressive nature that exists within the prison environment and the intrinsic psychology behind their tumultuous relationships. The authors, Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo hypothesize that the assigned roles of the participants (i.e., guard or prisoner) will significantly impact their actions and attitudes.(Haney, Banks & Zimbardo, 1973) Before choosing from the willing participants, the experimenters conducted research into what it is like for real life inmates and guards, in an attempt to emulate, as closely as possible, a real world prison environment for the experiment.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was a research study conducted in 1973, this study was formed to investigate psychological effects of perceived power by focusing on interactions between prisoners and prison guards within a simulated prison environment. The researchers’ main goal was to examine the theory that innate personality traits of prisoners and guards are a direct cause of abusive behavior in prison. Participants of this study were recruited through a newspaper ad that offered to pay a fee of $15 daily for males to participate in a simulated prison exercise (Haney, Curtis & Zimbardo, 1973). The final selected subjects consisted of 24 males who were chosen based on their psychological stability, maturity, and lack of anti-social behavior.

The Stanford Prison Experiment article addresses the psychology of power by studying a model of the prisoner and guard relationship as represented by the American penal system. The authors, through a unique experiment involving volunteers who would play the roles of guards and prisoners in a somewhat realistic prison setting, hoped to provide empirical scientific evidence and information proving that the American penal system is not only dysfunctional and inherently flawed, but causes real and lasting harm to the temperament, attitude and personality of both the prisoners and the guards in American prisons.

Philip Zimbardo, a professor of Psychology at the University of Stanford. The experiment took place in a basement of the university. Twelve qualified volunteers including Dr. Zimbardo was to play the role of either guards or prisoners in a fabricated and stimulated prison environment at a basement of the university. At the university, the newspaper announcement to collect volunteer states that the participant will be paid 15 dollars each per day (Haney, C., Banks, W.C. & Zimbardo, P.G. 1973). Except for Dr. Zimbardo, all participants were students.

A STUDY OF PRISONERS AND GUARDS IN A SIMULATED PRISON Craig Haney, Curtis Banks and Phillip Zimbardo Stanford University The topic addressed in this article is called: Stanford prison experiment, a study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Purpose: The purpose of the research described in this article is to investigate the psychological study of prison life experience in prisons by prisoners and the guards and the effects it has on their psychological behavior.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was designed to allow 24 participants (college students) to be arrested in a mock police state scenario without any charges being brought against them. The participants were hooded and put into a prison cellblock with other mock prisoners. The purpose of the experiment was to see how non-criminals would be affected by the prison culture and the oversight of prison guards. Philip G. Zimbardo (2004)