Haney

• Aim


  To see whether violence in prisons occurs because of the (unpleasant) sorts of people within them, or whether the (unpleasant) nature of prisons is what creates the violent behaviours
• Sample

  • 24 male college students in the Stanford area of California
  • Of the 75 who applied from the newspaper advert, the people selected were the most stable, mature and least involved in anti-social behaviours
  • The final 24 were all white apart from one Asian man, were largely middle-class and didn't know each other
  • They were being paid 15 dollars for each day they participated (up to 14 days maximum)
• Procedure

  • Researchers were randomly assigned the role of the prisoner or the guard
  • The day before the study, guards were bough to Stanford Uni for an Orientation day
  • During this, they helped create a simulated prison in the basement of the Psychology building, were briefed on the role (the primary aim of which was to 'maintain the reasonable degree of order within the prison necessary for its effective functioning') and established a set of rights and rules for the prisoners
  • Also given their uniform: khaki shirt and trousers, reflective sunglasses, whistles and a baton
• Procedure pt 2

  • The following day the experiment began for the prisoners when the (real) Palo Alto police called at their homes, 'arrested' them. read them their rights, handcuffed them and took them to a police station where they were fingerprinted and put in a detention cell
  • They were then collected from the detention cell by on of the 'guards; and an experimenter, blindfolded and taken to the mock prison where they were stripped naked, sprayed with a 'delousing preparation' and made to stand naked in the 'yard' for a while
• Procedure pt 3

  • The prisoners were given their uniforms: loose-fitting muslin smocks, with numbers on the front and back, no underwear, a light chain and lock on one ancle, rubber sandals and a cap made from a nylon stocking to simulate having their heads shaved and had mug shots take before put in cells and told to remain silent
• Results


  These comprised how the two groups behaved. There were notable individual differences within each group but, after an initial revolt on day two, it settled into what Zimbardo described at

  • Pathological prisoner syndrome - the way in which prisoners started to show passivity, dependence and flattened mood. Five had to be released due to extreme emotional depression and anxiety
  • Pathology of power - the way in which people given the opportunity to exert power over others engage in oppressive behaviour
• Conclusions


  The study shows how social roles influence behaviour suggesting that it is the structure and organisation of the prison environment which leads to brutal behaviour, as 'normal-average' young men behaved brutally to fit in with their role as a guard