The Stanford Prison Experiment

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  • Created by: Yasmetron
  • Created on: 20-01-23 13:27
What did Zimbardo want to disprove?
dispositional explanations= focus on internal characteristics that lie within the individual (e.g. personality) that lead them to be more or less likely to follow the orders of an authority figure
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What were Zimbardo's aims?
- create a realistic prison simulation
- determine why alleged brutality and violence happens in American prisons
- how do men adapt to the novel and alien situation in which those prisoners lose their liberty, civil rights and privacy
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How many participants and their demographics?
25 people out of 75
all men
college students
paid $15 a day for two weeks
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What happened at the arrest?
- arrested at home by surprise
- finger printed and left in isolation at police station
- stripped naked and searched
- de-loused
- issued uniform, bedding and basic supplies
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Where was the prison?
Basement corridor of Psychology Dept., Stanford University, U.S.A.
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What were the participants told?
- Prisoners remained in the prison 24-7
- Participants told they would be asked to play the roles for 2 weeks
- When all cells occupied Warden greeted them and read out rules
- Told that aim was to simulate a prison environment, within limits of ethical c
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What did the guards wear?
khaki shirt, trousers, whistle, police night stick, reflective sunglasses (eye contact impossible)
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what did the prisoners wear?
Loose fitting muslin smock, ID number on front and back, no underwear, chain and lock around one ankle, sandals, cap made from a nylon stocking
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How were they observed?
- video tape
- interviews
- participants kept diaries
- paper tests were administered
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How did the guards act?
Guards retaliated strongly when prisoners rebelled
Physical punishment
Degraded prisoners
Solitary confinement
Tried to split the prisoners
Sometimes denied basic rights
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When did the study end?
after 6 days
5 prisoners had to be released due to extreme emotional depression, crying, rage and acute anxiety
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How is anonymity increased in prisons?
– Uniforms, numbers, standard hair cuts, limits on personal property and personalising cells
– Limited possessions become things to fight for
– The ‘ecology of de-humanisation’ – prison design – minimising privacy, mass eating, mass exercise
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What did Banuazizi & Movahedi (1975) question?
Realism (ecological validity)?
Phenomenological significance ?
Zimbardo’s active role as superintendent
Alternative explanation
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What is the wider relevance and impact?
Psychologists need to be advocates of social change
Prisons are places that demean humanity; imprisonment should be used more sparingly (Haney & Zimbardo, 1998)
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What went wrong in the Abu Ghraib Prison?
- Guards were condemned by the military leadership as “morally corrupt,” and by the press as a few “bad apples.”
- Prisoner humiliation and physical abuse
- Defendant was psychologically ‘normal’
- Zimbardo told MTV News: it's more like "a bad barrel conv
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Card 2

Front

What were Zimbardo's aims?

Back

- create a realistic prison simulation
- determine why alleged brutality and violence happens in American prisons
- how do men adapt to the novel and alien situation in which those prisoners lose their liberty, civil rights and privacy

Card 3

Front

How many participants and their demographics?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What happened at the arrest?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Where was the prison?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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