Zimbardo

• The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in 1971 by psychologist Philip Zimbardo to examine situational forces versus dispositions in human behavior
• 24 young, healthy, psychologically normal men were randomly assigned to be “prisoners” or “guards” in a simulated prison environment
• The experiment had to be terminated after only 6 days due to extreme, pathological behavior emerging in both groups
• Pacifist young men assigned as guards began behaving sadistically, inflicting humiliation and suffering on the prisoners
• Prisoners became blindly obedient and allowed themselves to be dehumanized
• The experiment demonstrated the power of situations to alter human behavior dramatically
• Aim of the experiment:

  • Zimbardo and his colleagues were interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards (dispositional) or had more to do with the prison environment (situational)
• Zimbardo predicted that the situation made people act the way they do rather than their disposition (personality)
• Procedure of the experiment:

  • Zimbardo converted a basement of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison
  • 24 men judged to be the most physically & mentally stable, mature, & least involved in antisocial behaviors were chosen to participate
  • Participants were randomly assigned to either the role of prisoner or guard
  • Prisoners were treated like criminals, arrested at their homes, fingerprinted, photographed, and 'booked'
  • Guards were instructed to maintain law and order in the prison without physical violence
• Findings of the experiment:

  • Guards began to harass prisoners within hours of starting the experiment
  • Prisoners adopted prisoner-like behavior, taking the rules seriously and siding with guards against non-compliant prisoners
  • Physical punishment like push-ups and dehumanization were common
  • Rebellion broke out on the second day, leading to guards using force to put it down
  • Special privileges were given to some prisoners to break solidarity among them
  • Relationships between guards and prisoners changed over time, with guards becoming more aggressive and prisoners more submissive
• • Emotional disturbances and breakdowns were observed in some prisoners
• The experiment was intended to run for two weeks but was terminated on the sixth day due to emotional breakdowns of prisoners and excessive aggression of the guards
• The Stanford Prison Experiment revealed how people readily conform to social roles they are expected to play
• The study showed that the guards began to act in ways they wouldn't in their normal lives because of the authority they were given
• The "prison" environment played a significant role in creating the guards' brutal behavior
• The findings support the situational explanation of behavior over the dispositional one
• Deindividuation and learned helplessness were proposed as processes to explain the behavior of the participants
• Deindividuation is when individuals become so immersed in group norms that they lose their sense of identity and personal responsibility
• Learned helplessness could explain the prisoners' submission to the guards as they learned their actions had little effect on their situation
• The escalation of aggression and abuse by the guards could be seen as due to positive reinforcement they received from fellow guards.
• Ecological validity was criticized for lacking in simulating a real prison environment
• The prisoners learned through negative reinforcement that complying with the guards' orders could avoid further unpleasant experiences
• Strong demand characteristics confounded the study, indicating the findings were likely influenced by these rather than true human behavior insights
• Demand characteristics could explain the findings of the study, suggesting participants may have been playing expected roles rather than genuinely conforming
• Sample bias was noted as the study sample comprised US male students, limiting the generalizability of the findings
• The study may lack population validity as it focused on American male students and cannot be applied to female prisons or other countries
• The study led to the formal recognition of ethical guidelines by the American Psychological Association (APA).
• The study altered the way US prisons are run, such as not housing juveniles accused of federal crimes with adult prisoners
• US prison policy has transformed in ways counter to the Stanford Prison Experiment insights, moving towards punishment and containment over rehabilitation
• Psychologists are urged to reengage in prison policy to limit imprisonment, adopt humane alternatives, and address socioeconomic risk factors
• Zimbardo demonstrated the power of situations to elicit evil actions in individuals
• Zimbardo (1995) demonstrates the power of situations to elicit evil actions from ordinary, educated people who likely would never have done such things otherwise
• Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research unit of the Japanese army during WWII, led by General Shiro Ishii and involved thousands of doctors and researchers
• Unit 731 conducted lethal human experimentation on prisoners, including Allied POWs, exposing them to plague, anthrax, mustard gas, and bullets to test biological weapons
• Doctors in Unit 731 obeyed orders unquestioningly and conducted experiments in the name of “medical science”
• The Stanford Prison Experiment showed how situational forces can lead normal, intelligent professionals to dehumanize victims and conduct cruel experiments
• Participants playing the role of prisoners were not protected from psychological harm, experiencing incidents of humiliation and distress
• Guards in the Stanford Prison Experiment were allowed to induce feelings of boredom, frustration, arbitrariness, and powerlessness among the inmates
• Extensive debriefing sessions were held post-experiment, and Zimbardo concluded there were no lasting negative effects on participants
• Zimbardo aimed to investigate the impact of situational factors and power dynamics on human behavior in the Stanford Prison Experiment