SP - ZIMBARDO, The Stanford Prison Experiment - 1973 Flashcards
what is dehumanisation
degrading people by lessening of human qualities
what was Zimbardo interested in
the power of situation vs disposition of a person
where was the ‘prison’
in a basement of Stanford’s Jordan Hall
what was the hole
a small cupboard where prisoners were put for hours - solitary confinement
what role did uniform play
guards - dark glasses, smart uniforms
prisoners - smock dress, tights on their head
so they can feel their role and guards look superior to prisoners
how did Zimbardo sample
put an add in the newspaper ($15/day for 1-2 weeks) - volunteer sampling at Stanford University
who were the participants
24 all white, all male students from Stanford
how were they screened
they did an interview and personality test - not allowed criminal records, substance abuse, physical/mental disabilities, personality disorder
how were they assigned to their roles
randomly - 12 guards, 12 prisoners, 3 alternates
what was Zimbardo’s role
superintendent of the prison
what was significant the 2nd morning of the experiment
the prisoners ripped of their numbers, took their hats off and barricaded themselves into their cells
how did the guards retaliate after the first night
made them do push ups until they fell-down
what was significant about prisoner 416
he was the leader- was stripped naked and shoved him into the ‘hole’ and he developed psychosis and had to leave after 36h
what was the planned length vs. real length of the experiment
planned: 2 weeks
real: 6 days
why was Christina Maslach so influential
she was Z’s girlfriend and told him to shut it down when she came to visit as an outsider
which ethical guidelines were broken
- no informed consent
- no right to withdraw
- no protection from harm (physical and psychological)
- Z lost his objectivity
CONCLUSIONS
- some people clearly have some disposition toward violence
- some guards were tough but fair
- some guards were not harsh with their punishment
pros of the study
- random allocation so removed researcher bias
- high mundane realism -> the environment was clearly thought out (validity)
- he conducted a debrief for psychological recovery
- hs practical application -> the Abu Ghraib
cons of study
- had info on their personalities, did he accidentally skew the group who had problematic personalities? lowers generalizability
- one guard confessed to demand characteristics - cool hand Luke
- POOR ethics
- all Ps were the same -> lowers generalizability
