The Effects Of The Guard And Prisoner Roles On Men

Some prisoners are plagued with Post Incarceration Syndrome, a combination of psychological problems. These problems are institutionalized and antisocial personality traits, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,

All together psychologically the following were observed: the loss of personal identity on both sides; and the arbitrary control exerted by the guards made the prisoner's lives increasingly unpredictable, causing depression and anxiety. The guards also developed a dependency on prisoners and were emasculated them to the extent that when the prisoners were debriefed they suggested that they had been assigned to be prisoners because they were smaller than the guards. In fact, there was no difference in average height between the prisoners and the guards, and the perceived difference was a response to the prisoners' perceptions of themselves and their power (Haney et al. p 14).

Philip Zimbardo and his team aimed to demonstrate the situational rather than the dispositional causes of negative behaviour and thought patters found in prison settings by conducting the simulation with average everyday participants playing the roles of guard and prisoner. From a total of seventy-five volunteers, twenty-two male participants

The Stanford prison experiment is a very stimulating subject discussed in several 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 papers as prisoners or prison guards.

Zimbardo want 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” (McLeod 1).

This experiment needed to answer some difficult questions; one being what happens when you put a good man in a horrible, evil place such as a prison. The person leading the experiment was Psychologist Philip Zimbardo. Zimbardo and his contemporaries needed to find people willing to participate in how the impact of prison life affects the guards and the prisoners. Using an ad in the paper offering fifteen dollars a day, seventy people filled out applications and were heavy screened for drug abuse, any involvements in crime, or any underlying mental illness that was not documented, only twenty-four students from various colleges in Canada and the Stanford area were given the paid opportunity to take part of Zimbardo’s experiment (Zimbardo, Haney, Banks, & Jaffe, 1971).

The Stanford Prison Experiment was performed to observe the behavioral and psychological consequences of being a prisoner or guard. More specifically the experiment was performed to see whether people would conform to the roles of being a prison guard and a prisoner. This experiment was to help understand how positions of power and the expected norm would affect the subjects in a prison environment. The psychologist also wanted to know whether violence by guards is due to their personalities or if the guard and the prisoners actions were more related to the environment and situation that they were placed in.

Introduction: The topic of this research is to look at and understand the development of norms and the effects of roles, labels, and social expectations in certain environments. The purpose of this study is to show the mental stress that prisoners could endure while being institutionalized. In addition, the roles that prison guards have and the possibility of the exploitation of power shown by those in leadership roles in American prisons. The study that we would perform is like the controversial and infamous Stanford Prison experiment which was conducted by Philip Zimbardo in the summer of 1971 and is still being talked about today.

However, there are many inmates who are unable to cope well with the pains of imprisonment. Maladaptive responses such as emotional disorders, self-harm and suicide attempts are the most common during the initial phases of incarceration (Adams, 1992*pg. 275*). Being barred from the outside world, prisoners develop coping mechanisms that allow them to deal with the pains of incarceration. According to Thomas and Foster, two theoretical models have emerged in response to the coping mechanisms demonstrated by inmates.

The Stanford prison experiment was made and led by a psychological professor named Phillip Zimbardo. The purpose of this experiment was to understand personalities and people’s behavior, so it was a study for psychological conclusions of becoming a prisoner or a prison guard. The prison was made in the university basement of the psychological department. Zimbardo and his team selected 24 participants out of 75.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo conducted one of the most dramatic psychological experiments just to answer two questions, “What happens when you put good people in an evil place?” and “Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?” The aim of the Stanford Prison Experiment was to investigate how willingly people would adjust to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life. Zimbardo was interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due

The overall purpose for this research is to raise awareness about unhealthy, unsafe, and irrational prison conditions in America by describing how prisoners are treated by other prisoners and the guards, explaining how prison establishments in America look and function, and provide some insight as to how the lack of

While dedicated research on the subject of psychological damage as a result of imprisonment is surprisingly sparse there are a few articles that touch on the subject. Prison is a ripe case study for many Psychology scholars due to its inherently insular nature and varied subcultures. Researchers have noticed frightening trends among inmates such as increased aggression, impairment of executive functions, and increased development of psychosomatic disorders.

This study represents a parallel to the behavior found in incarcerated humans. Jails cause the same psychological side effects as prisons, to a smaller degree, in the effects of being en-caged, however, the overall standard of living in jails is much higher. There is a decent relationship between the guards and the jailers. The jailers are allowed to interact with the same people on their 'block' between "lockdown" times. Lock-down is when the jailers are confined to their cells, usually at night and for a short while in the day, during a change of shift. This method allows inmates to play cards, watch TV together and at very least walk around something else besides their cell. The prison system, however, usually remains in lockdown all the time, although they can speak to each other, they usually can't see each other without a mirror. Observing these two methods, and what little problems there are in jails as opposed to prisons leads me to believe that if you treat a human being like a human being they will act like a human being. If you lock them in a cage all day they may as well act like an animal. (Prison Activist Resource Center, 1-3)

While getting into prison, a new “self” was developed through daily interaction with other inmates or prison staff in prison (Goffman, 1961). This can form maladaptation to prison such as suicide attempt, depression, aggression, violence, and distress due to the restriction of prison environment (Goffman, 1961). Therefore, depriving situation in prison can produce self-destructive or aggressive behavior such as inmates may present misconduct like refuse to follow rules (Goffman, 1961).