Reicher and Haslam (2006) - BBC prison study

Controlled observation in a mock prison which was filmed for television.

P's - 15 male vounteers who had responsed to an advert, They were randomly assigned to 2 groups of 5 guards and 10 prisoners.

Daily tests were done to measure depression, compliance with rules and stress.

The prisoners knew that one of them would be chosen at random to become a guard after 3 days.

An ethics comitee had the power to stop the eperiment at any time for the protection of the participants.

The guards failed to sorm a united group. hey felt uncomfortable with the inequality of the situation.

After the 3 days when one of the prisoners had been promoted the grou of prisoners became a stonger group.

The unequal system collapsed due to the unwillingness of the guards and the strength of the prisoners.

On day 6 the prisoners rebelled and lived in a democracy, this collapsed due to tensions in the group.

The study was abandoned early on the advice comitee, as the participants showed signs of stress.

The participants didnt fit into their expected social roles, suggesting that these roles are fexible.

In contrast to Zimbardo's findings Reicher and Haslam's prisoners were a stong group and the guards were weak - This may be because Reicher and Haslams guards weren't as empowered as Zmbardo's who were encouraged to maintain order.

The study was made for TV - the P's may have played up to the camera's.

Artificial situation -  results cannot be generalised to real life.

No ethical issues - P's were not decieved, they gave informed consent. They were protected by the ethics comitee amd were debriefed and counselled after the experiment.