A AS Psychology Key Studies

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A / AS Psychology - Key Studies

• The Topic - Social Interaction
• The authors
• Zimbardo, Haney Banks (1973)

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Zimbardo , Haney Banks The Stanford Prison
Simulation

• A study of the behaviour of prisoners and guards
  in a prison simulation

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The Stanford Prison Study

• What causes prisons to be brutal places?

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The type of people in them?

• Vicious prisoners
• Sadistic guards
• OR
• THE SITUATION people are in?

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Philip Zimbardo wanted to answer this question

• So what did he do?

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The astonishing.. Stanford Prison Simulation

• ZIMBARDO
• Built a prison in the University basement!
• Called for student volunteers

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The volunteers

• Were screened for psychological normality
• Were paid 15 per day

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The participants

• 21 male college students
• chosen from 75 volunteers as the most stable and
  socially well adjusted
• randomly allocated to roles ..
• 10 prisoners 11 guards

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The experimental design

• Two conditions
• prisoner guard (the IV was the role)
• all participants were unknown to each other
• all had adequate clothing and diet

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What the prison was like

• Cells were 6 by 9 with steel barred doors
• an unlit closet served as a solitary confinement
  room
• guards had quarters
• observation screen and video filming

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At the start of the study

• All participants briefed and signed a contract -
  for 14 days
• Prisoners told be available .
• Guards helped to set up the prison

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What happened next?

• The prisoners were arrested at their homes by
  real police
• (they did not expect this)
• they were charged, fingerprinted, handcuffed
  taken to the prison

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On arrival at the prison

• Blindfolded
• Stripped and deloused
• Made to stand alone naked
• Given prison smock and stocking cap
• ID number printed on front and back
• Had a light chain fitted

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What about the guards?

• They wore
• Uniform
• Reflective sunglasses
• Carried sticks

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The prison routine

• Rules had to memorised
• Numbers not names were used
• 3 meals a day
• 3 supervised toilet visits per day
• 2 hours per day for letter writing , etc
• Ps could earn 15 per day for work
• prisoners counted twice per day

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The guards

• Were not given specific instructions
• Told to keep order
• No physical punishment allowed
• Told to administer work shifts, etc

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What happened?

• Interpersonal relationships deteriorated
• negative / hostile/ humiliating/ dehumanising
• Guards became aggressive especially when out of
  sight of the video recorders !

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What happened?

• The prisoners
• Became passive and depressed
• Four prisoners developed rashes, crying,
  trembling, rage, and acute anxiety by day two

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What happened?

• Five prisoners had to be released due to extreme
  depression and fits of crying
• On day six, remaining prisoners were very
  depressed and anxious
• Prisoners polled to see who wanted to be paroled
  (only two wanted to continue)

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The end of prison life

• Zimbardo terminated his experiment on day six !!

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Who felt what?

• The prisoners were delighted
• The guards were distressed
• What explained this extraordinary situation?

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What did the prisoners guards talk about in the
prison ?

• Guards talked about problem prisoners
• Prisoners talked about prison conditions
• Little chat about ordinary life
• (only 10 of total conversation)

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Remember this was a pretend situation!

• Why did this happen?
• These were ordinary students just like YOU

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Zimbardo,s explanation The guards

• The illusion of power had become real
• The most hostile guards became the leaders and
  became role models for the others
• Not to be tough was viewed as weakness

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The pathology of power

• After day one all prisoners rights were redefined
  as privileges which had to earned

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The pathological prisoner syndrome

• Prisoners experience loss of control over life
• First tried group rebellion tactics
• Then self interest dominated

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Prisoner coping strategies

• Some coped by becoming sick
• Some coped by being good
• Some sided with the guards against a trouble
  maker

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What processes were involved ?

• Loss of personal identity - own clothes, hair
  cuts, being able to decide own fate
• Arbitrary control - the rules were variable -
  smiling at a joke could be OK one minute and
  punished the next

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What processes were involved ?

• Learned helplessness - the prisoners learned that
  whatever they did had no effect
• (Look up Seligman learned helplessness)
• Dependency - permission had to be obtained for
  the most simple activity - such as brushing teeth

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What processes were involved ?

• DEINDIVIDUATION
• Total loss of self identity - becoming anonymous
  
• In both prisoners and guards

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What processes were involved ?

• EMASCULATION
• Loss of masculinity
• Caused by dress making the prisoners sit crossed
  legged like women.

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Zimbardos conclusion

• The conditions in real prisons are not caused by
  the personalities of the people in them
• But by the situation in which the prisoners and
  guards find themselves in