Standford Prison Experiment Questions (Zimbardo)

Central question of the experiment (answer this before viewing the documentary):

1. “Does the situation outside of you—the institution—come to control your behavior, or do the things inside of you—your attitude, your values, your morality—allow you to rise above a negative environment?” –Philip G. Zimbardo

- I believe that the two situations (outside and inside us) both play effective roles, however i personally view “the things inside of you—your attitude, your values, your morality—allow you to rise above a negative environment”

Learn about the Stanford Prison Experiment:
Watch the BBC Documentary:  BBC Documentary on Stanford Prison Experiment

Or research  http://www.prisonexp.org/rebellion

2)Background: What had Milgrim’s study shown?

Aim:

Milgram (1963) was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person. 

Stanley Milgram was interested in how easily ordinary people could be influenced into committing atrocities for example, Germans in WWII.

Procedure: 

Participants were 40 males, aged between 20 and 50, whose jobs ranged from unskilled to professional, from the New Haven area. They were paid $4.50 for just turning up. At the beginning of the experiment they were introduced to another participant, who was actually a confederate of the experimenter (Milgram). The teacher is told to administer an electric shock every time the learner makes a mistake, increasing the level of shock each time. 

Results :

There were 30 switches on the shock generator marked from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 (danger – severe shock). 65% (two-thirds) of participants (i.e. teachers) continued to the highest level of 450 volts. All the participants continued to 300 volts. Milgram did more than one experiment – he carried out 18 variations of his study.  All he did was alter the situation (IV) to see how this affected obedience (DV).

3)Consider the psychological consequences of stripping, delousing, and shaving the heads of prisoners or members of the military. What transformations take place when people go through an experience like this?

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Humilation 

4)During the experiment, how did the prisoners and guards conform to their roles?

Several of the guards became progressively more sadistic - particularly at night when they thought the cameras were off, despite being picked by chance out of the same pool as the prisoners.

Prisoners did not stand up for themselves. 

5)How did even Zimbardo, the psychologist conducting the experiment, conform to his role as a prison superintendent?

He payed little to no attention to the effects on the prisons, he just cared about the outcome which would help his study.

6)How did the guards break the solidarity of the prisoners?

They used a form of manipulation to convince them that they were nothing but troublemakers. In addition they tried to make deals with them, for instance if they gave up their blankets they would be free.

7)How did the good guards react to what the bad guards were doing?

They left the situation and removed themselves from that atmosphere 

8)What are Zimbardo’s conclusions about human behavior, based on this experiment?

The situation that were deemed as “bad situation” won over the good people