Conducted by Philip Zambardo, the Stanford prison experiment was a psychological study about the effects of captivity and the human reaction to these effects. His motivation was to discover how humans behaved in a negative environment. Yet his study was short on ethics. The Stanford prison experiment was a landmark psychology study of human behavior in captivity yet it raised troubling questions about the ethical treatment of its subjects. The study relied on volunteers from Stanford University. Zambardo “… converted the basement of the university’s psychology department, into a subterranean jail” ("Psychology: The Stanford Prison Experiment - BBC Documentary"). Half the subjects were randomly assigned to play the role of guards. The other …show more content…
It was originally planned to be a two week long study however it was cut short due to the prisoners having experienced psychological trauma at the hands of the guards. Although it was an eye opening study, it definitely was not an ethical one. Because there was no control over the guard’s behaviors and actions, the prisoners suffered mental and emotional abuse. Since Zambardo did not allow them to leave the study, participants such as prisoner 8612 “… started showing signs of severe distress” ("Psychology: The Stanford Prison Experiment - BBC Documentary"). The study first crossed the line when Zambardo decided to actively participate in the experiment as the prison superintendent instead of acting like the impartial scientist that he should have been. Even though it was ground breaking research, it was not right to trade the suffering of the prisoners for the knowledge gained by the study. According to our book, the symbolic interactionist perspective is a “… sociological approach that views society as the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups” (Kendall 21). This stage was set when the Zambardo converted the psychology basement into a mock prison which was even
The study was cut short on August 20th, 1971. Prisoners began to break down emotionally and they tried to find ways to cope with it. The guards had total control of the prison and the prisoners had become isolated individuals. The experiment ended
The Stanford prison experiment was conducted at Stanford University on August 14th through August 20th in 1971, by a team of researchers headed by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. This experiment used college students and was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were both very interested in this particular experiment due to the many violent outbreaks and conflicts between military guards and prisoners. In 2010 Hollywood produced a movie on the events of the Stanford prison experiment.
The Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted at Stanford University on August 14–20, 1971, by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. It was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research and was of interest to both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps as an investigation into the causes of conflict between military guards and prisoners. The experiment is a classic study on the psychology of imprisonment and is a topic covered in most introductory psychology textbooks.
The experiment consisted of twenty-four college students ranging from U.S. and Canada, those twenty-four individuals were selected from the original seventy plus applicants that applied to be a volunteer after reading the article in the paper about the experiment. The experiment was held in the basement of the psychology department of Stanford University (6. Grievances. n.d.). The prison was built around the existing walls and rooms in the basement, the rooms acted as cells for the prisoners where they would be spending there next fourteen days, there was also a guard’s room and a waiting room for visiting parents of the prisoners. Philip Zimbardo wanted the experiment to be as realistic as possible, so Zimbardo consulted the help of many other psychologists, psychiatrists, preacher and an ex-con in the construction of the prison.
They wore them down by the antics I mentioned above and I think the prisoners also came to the realization that there is nothing that can do to change their situation they have no authority or control. Although his experiment was viewed as controversial and iconic. I cannot in any way, shape or form justify a research permissible within the current ACJS ethical standards. I don’t believe any experiments could top the Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment. How could you replicate or create an experiment similar to this one if there was no rules or guidelines to adhere by? By having no rules or guidelines is what made this experiment one of a kind and unique. Even by the ACJS ethical standards applied in my eyes, I still view it as unjust and unethical. I don’t believe that these standards should be altered so as to permit this type of research. I believe experiments like this have no place in Psychology. Despite the punishment, the individuals
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 was carried out by psychologist Philip Zimbardo, a Stanford University professor, between August 15 and 21, 1971 (Stanford Prison Experiment, n.d.). He wanted to know whether the brutality of prison guards in the American prison system was due to their personalities or the environment in which they worked. He transformed the basement of Stanford University's psychology building into a mock prison. From the 75 men he interviewed, he chose 24 young men who were physically and mentally healthy, mature, and not antisocial to participate in the study. None of them knew each other, and they would be paid $15 per day to take part in the experiment (Mcleod, 2023).
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.
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.
Over the years there have been some controversial psychology experiments over many decades. One of the most controversial is the Stanford Prison Experiment. This experiment was put together by Stanford professor Philip Zimbardo who conducted this experiment in 1971. This is the most well known experiment that Zimbardo has ever done. Zimbardo did this experiment to show the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard.
The Stanford prison experiment was unique because they wanted to watch and learn the behaviors of a prisoner and a prison guard, observing the effects they found some pretty disturbing things among the students. Dr. Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues at Stanford University stayed true to what they believed, and they did what they felt they needed to do to find a set of results for their simulation. Unfortunately they where swallowed into the experiment, when they became the roles, just as the students where. So from their point of view I want to say that what they where doing was ethical, and being that the prison experiment was stopped before its half way mark showed that they realized that it was time to call it quits. Dr. Zimbardo noticed
The Stanford Prison Experiment was one of the most criticized human nature experiments in history. In the experiment Dr. Zimbardo wanted to see if people would think for themselves, or fall into predefined roles that they were given. Before the experiment took place, Dr. Zimbardo picked 24 male subjects he thought were mentally and emotionally stable. He also built a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University. During this process all the subjects were divided in half making 12 guards and the other 12 prisoners. To help define the roles even further he dressed the guards in police type uniforms with wooden clubs. The individuals that were used as the prisoners were stripped searched and given smocks as their uniforms. Once the experiment started everyone seemed to fall right into the roles they were given. Even Dr. Zimbardo fell into his role as the prison
Was it ethical to conduct this study? The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted by psychologist Philip Zimbardo. The aim of this experiment was to study human behavior by laying down up a fake experiment in a basement in one of Stanford university buildings (Musen & Zimbardo, 1991). The participants of the experiment were asked to assume either the role of a prisoner or a prison guard.
The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted by a research group led by Dr. Philip Zimbardo using Stanford students during August 14 through the 20th of 1971. Dr. Zimbardo wanted to see how people reacted when they are either put in captivity or in charge of others. The study was funded by the US Office of Naval Research and grew interest to both the US Navy and the Marine Corps for an investigation to the purpose of conflict among military guards and prisoners. In the study, 24 male students were selected out of 75 applicants to take on randomly assigned roles. One of the surprises of the study was how participants quickly adapted to roles well beyond expectations. After the first eight hours, the experiment turned to be a joke and nobody was taking it seriously but then prisoners
The Stanford prison experiment (SPE) was study organized by Philip George Zimbardo who was a professor at Stanford University. Basically, SPE was a study of psychological effect. He studied about how personality and environment of a person effect his behaviour. Experiment he performed was based on prison and life of guards. He wants to find out whether personality get innovated in person according to given environment (situational) or due to their vicious personalities that is violent behaviour (dispositional). The place where the whole experiment was set up Philip Zimbardo and his team was Stanford University on August 14Th to August 20th in the year 1971 (Wikipedia).