...The Stanford Prison experiment was a psychological experiment that took place in 1971 at Stanford University and was conducted by Philip Zimbardo a psychology professor who believed that prisons were violent places because of the nature of the roles guards and prisoners were expected to play and the rules and expectations attached to these roles. Zimbardo argues that no matter who was placed in such a position they would act in the same manner, based on their expected and perceived roles. Zimbardo attempted to prove his hypothesis by putting law-abiding middle class male students in the position of prisoners and guards. Twenty four male volunteers were chosen and randomly divided into two groups, 12 guards and 12 prisoners. Uniforms were issued to each group, very few rules were given except that the guards were permitted to do whatever they felt necessary to keep order...
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...Johnny Mccullor August 10, 2012 Bus 311 Research Correlational Research are used for various reasons such as researched in research experience. You may see the outcome of the research, but how can it be used? I believe the well known Stanford Prison Experiment, popular in Sociology can be used in the workplace, as far as stopping negativity or controlling it and seeing what it can do to the moral of staff. Body (3 paragraphs) The study I chose was the Stanford Prison Experiment, which is information that can be used in prisons to date to help manage the prison population for various reasons. The variables were the participants themselves. All of the same age, background, and education, but some were made prisoners and some guards. The variable is the role they played in the research experiment. The researchers were able to mentally manipulate the prisoners in to thinking the guards were bigger and stronger than they were, but they were in fact not. The overall experiment was to determine what the impact of prison life has on someone mentally and physically. I believe the warden or manager that is running the prison could use this data to begin the rehabilitation process immediately. In the study the mental breakdown began immediately. This would also be a tough sell; they did after all do something to get them there and were unable to be contributing citizens. Outside a prison you may use this at work and the two variables would be how do Help...
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...Many studies and experiments of the past still face scrutiny by researchers, scientists and many other people in all different fields today. Many of them have been criticized due to their unethical treatment of their subjects. Because of this, the psychological community has established a special group of people and guidelines called the Institutional Review Board that analyzes whether or not a study is ethical before it is even allowed to proceed. This board was established in 1974, three years after a study known as the Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted. The Stanford Prison Experiment began in 1971 when a psychologist named Philip Zimbardo came up with a question; he wanted to know if the brutality reported among guards in American...
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...Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment PSYCH/620 May 31, 2015 Dr. Al Clark Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment Dr. Phillip Zimbardo of Stanford University led a team of researchers to conduct a social experiment on the effects of imposed social roles in the penal system. Internal dispositions changed to adapt to the confinement of the prison. The behavior observed of the participants was morally repugnant and apprehensible in response to role of authority. Participants assigned to a prisoner role broke down in response to captivity. The study focused on behavioral attributes that attributed sadistic behavior to the prison environment opposed to an innate tendency towards a cruel personality (Zimbardo, 2007). The impact of Dr. Zimbardo’s study on social psychology Dr. Zimbardo’s classic psychological study relating to the psychological effects of the prisoner and prison guard relationship was momentous to social psychology. The study was influential to social psychology in the way that we were able to understand the circumstances that enable a normal, caring individual to carryout sadistic acts. Zimbardo’s prison experiment was a prison simulation based on Milgram’s research on obedience to authority. The study confirmed notions on how situations could completely corrupt human behavior (Stanley, 2006). Relevance of the Study in Relation to Contemporary World Issues The experiment influenced...
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...THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT - essay To begin with, the Stanford prison experiment was an attempt to investigate the psychological effects of percieved power. The aim was to investigate how readily people would conform the roles of guards and prisoners in a role-playing experiment that simulated the situation in prison. The experiment was carried out by a well-known and acclaimed psychologist Philip Zimbardo in 1971, this is the most known experiment he did. Even though the experiment itself is a big asset to behavioral psychology it is rejected by most of the people even after so many years. In the following lines, I’d like to describe to you how the experiment was getting on and show you my personal opinion on this matter. At the beginning of the experiment professor Philip Zimbardo and his team were choosing candidates that would be most suitable and then divided them into two groups — prisoners and guards based on their psychological profile. Participants were students who got paid $15 a day during 14 days long experiment. The students that were picked to be part of this experiment were formally arrested because Zimbardo wanted the experiment to be as real as possible. The students...
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...dissonance is the unconfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a fundamental cognitive drive to reduce this dissonance by modifying an existing belief, or rejecting one of the contradictory ideas. In 1971, psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues set out to create an experiment that looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. Zambardo, a former classmate of Stanley Milgram (Obedience experiment) was interested in expanding upon Milgram’s research. He wanted to further investigate the impact of situational variables on human behavior. That led Zimbardo to explore the psychological effect of becoming a prison guard or prisoner. The experiment took place in Stanford University, California, and there was 24 male participants. The participants we predominantly white and middle-class. There were originally 70 volunteers, but Zimbardo picked the 24 “most psychologically stable and healthy”. The “prison” was mock, and constructed in the basement of the Psychology department in Stanford University. Participants were paid for their time ($15 a day). The simulated prison included three six by nine foot prison cells. Each cell held three prisoners and included three cots. Other rooms across from the cells were...
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...Cisco Case Study Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Founded by Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, a married couple who worked as computer operations staff members at Stanford University, along with Nicholas Pham, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. For the first time in a decade Cisco experienced its first negative quarter in 2001. The loss of earnings was due to the economic down. Their sales declined by 30%, inventory surplus was written off as a loss to the tune of $2.2 billion, 8,500 workers were laid off and stock prices plummeted by almost 60%, as of April 6, 2001 stock prices were $13.63 per share, down from $82 per share 13 short months earlier. Cisco leaders blamed the economy for its decline; the economic downturn was only partly to blame for Cisco’s problem. To analyze and interpret the article What Went Wrong at Cisco in 2001, I will first explain what actually went wrong, second I will Show a SWOT analysis to identify Cisco’s strengths, weaknesses, and threats, third we will analyze and discuss the nature and problems of the Cisco’s business-level and corporate strategy, last I will present my solutions and recommendations for Cisco in the future. What Went Wrong at Cisco In 2001? Cisco’s problems were only magnified by the economic downturn but there had been signs of...
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...Introducing Sociology January 5, 2012 The Stanford Prison Study In the early 70’s, twenty-four male college students with no prior criminal history were selected to participate in a prison study that was conducted on the campus grounds of Stanford University. Before being placed in the stimulated prison that was designed by Zimbardo and his colleagues for this particular study, each student was given the option to be a prison guard or prisoner. The prison study was originally scheduled to last approximately two weeks. During the prison study researchers immediately observed the behavior changes of the guards and prisoners. For instance, the morning of the second day of the study prisoners began to rebel by taking off their stocking caps, ripping off their numbers, barricading themselves inside their cells, and not following the guards instructions. As a result, the guards became very aggressive and abusive toward the rebelling prisoners which resulted in them abusing their power to harass and intimidate prisoners. The guard’s abusive behaviors left the prisoners feeling extremely stressed, depressed, and experiencing episodes of anxiety (excessive crying and other negative emotions). In fact, several prisoners who experienced severe negative emotions were immediately released from the study. In view of these facts, the prison study only lasted a total of six days due to the guards, the authority figures, abusing their power and slowly dehumanizing their prisoners. In the...
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...Jamia E. Phoenix January 19, 2016 Colorado Christian University In 1973, Phillip K. Zimbardo, a psychology professor at Stanford University. Zimbardo researching how prisoners and guards learned submissive and authoritarian roles. There was an ad placed in the newspaper by Zimbardo seeking male subjects to participate in his research experiment. There was a $15 per day compensation offered to the chosen participants. There were roughly 75 people to respond to the professors ad. However there were only 25 chosen to participate in the experiment needed for a study of prison life. Zimbardo designed his experiment to go the duration of 15 days. The men who were selected to participate in the experiment were separated into two groups, the prisoners in one group, guards in the other. Zimbardo informed them all their rights would be violated and they were to be harassed. Phillip K. Zimbardo’s reason for conducting the Stanford Prison experiment was to expand upon Milgram’s research. It was Zimbardo’s desire to further investigate the impact of situational variables on human behavior. According to Christian perspective with this study we as followers of Jesus Christ should avoid being disrespectful, confrontational and dehumanizing to one another no matter one’s current social situation(s). We should approach one another with an open mind and not judging one another for our sins or wrong doings. Approaching the situations when enforcing rules is one thing but to put one...
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...The Stanford Prison Experiment was a landmark psychological study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life. Subjects were randomly assigned to play the role of "prisoner" or "guard". Those assigned to play the role of guard were given sticks and sunglasses; those assigned to play the prisoner role were arrested by the Palo Alto police department, deloused, forced to wear chains and prison garments, and transported to the basement of the Stanford psychology department, which had been converted into a sort of jail. What was the lesson learned from Zimbardo’s (1971) Stanford Prison experiment about the influence of social roles on an individual’s behavior? 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. The experiment very quickly got out of hand. A riot broke out on day two. One prisoner developed a psychosomatic rash all over his body upon finding out that his "parole" had been turned down. After only 6 days (of a planned two weeks), the experiment was shut down, for fear that one of the prisoners would be seriously hurt. Although the intent of the experiment was to examine captivity, its result has been used to demonstrate the impressionability and obedience of people when provided with a legitimizing ideology and social and institutional support. It is also used to illustrate cognitive...
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...M3. Explain why conformity and obedience are important in the public services, with reference to research studies. Conformity and obedience are forms of social influence which strongly affect our behaviour is social situations, from following fashions and unwritten social norms which organise our behaviour, to committing immoral acts because we are commanded to by someone who appears to be in a position of authority. This essay looks at the similarities and differences between the three, looking specifically at the factors that influence each two. Conformity within a group entails members changing their attitudes and beliefs in order to match those of others within the group. Those that conform tend to be obedient and compliant. In order to conform, the group member must attribute someone as having the legitimacy and credibility to lead or influence the group's behaviour. Without this "leader", conformity toward the group's goals will be less prevalent. If a member of the group fails to conform to the groups needs, he/she would lose credibility with the rest of the group. Conformity is a change in an individuals behaviour according to certain accepted standards within society as well as the influence of others whether this be a real or imaginary influence. There are 2 key concepts of conformity, acceptance or compliance. People plan to join a specific public service because they want to belong to that team because they may like the sentiments of the service etc. Hence...
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...psychological research of the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted at Stanford University in 1971. Ethics will be defined and the concept of risk/benefit ratio will be discussed. The Stanford Prison Experiment will be described. Finally, the impact of the Stanford Prison Experiment on psychological research will be evaluated. Ethics Defined Ethics is concerned with the principles of right conduct. In the philosophical use, ethics is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the study of morals and how it is that moral decisions are made. Ethics also has a stricter use when dealing with the rules or standards that govern conduct and right behavior (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2000). Risk/Benefit Ratio Ethical approaches to research take into account the risk/benefit ratio. This simply means that the amount of benefit that comes from a study or research clearly outweighs any adverse risks to the subjects involved in the study or research. A study or research is only considered to be ethical if there is favorable risk benefit ratio (Wikipedia, 2008). Background on the Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford Prison Experiment was created by Professor Philip Zimbardo who led a team of researchers at Stanford University in 1971. The study was designed to observe and study the human responses to captivity by both the inmates and the authority figures. In order to carry out the experiment, a mock prison was created in the basement of the Stanford psychology building and 24...
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...Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment by Saul McLeod published 2008 Aim: To investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life. Zimbardo (1973) was interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards or had more to do with the prison environment. Procedure: Zimbardo used a lab experiment to study conformity. To study the roles people play in prison situations, Zimbardo converted a basement of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison. He advertised for students to play the roles of prisoners and guards for a fortnight. 21 male college students (chosen from 75 volunteers) were screened for psychological normality and paid $15 per day to take part in the experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to either the role of prisoner or guard in a simulated prison environment. The prison simulation was kept as “real life” as possible. Prisoners were arrested at their own homes, without warning, and taken to the local police station. Guards were also issued a khaki uniform, together with whistles, handcuffs and dark glasses, to make eye contact with prisoners impossible. No physical violence was permitted. Zimbardo observed the behavior of the prisoners and guards. Here they were treated like every other criminal. They were fingerprinted, photographed and ‘booked’. Then they...
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...To what extent can Zimbardo’s experiment help to explain the abuse that occurs in prison e.g. Abu Ghraib (12 marks) The Stanford Prison Experiment was a landmark psychological study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances. It was conducted in 1971 by Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University. The Stanford experiment is the study human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life. Participants were randomly assigned to play the role of "prisoner" or "guard". Those assigned to play the role of guard were given sticks and sunglasses; those assigned to play the Prisoners were arrested at their own homes, without warning, and taken to the local police station and, forced to wear chains and prison clothes, and transported to the basement of the Stanford psychology department, which had been converted into a jail. Several of the guards became progressively more sadistic particularly at night when they thought the cameras were off. The experiment quickly got out of hand and a riot broke out on day two. One prisoner developed a psychosomatic rash all over his body upon finding out that his "parole" had been turned down. After only 6 days, the experiment was shut down; for fear that one of the prisoners would be seriously hurt. Although the intent of the experiment was to examine prison life, the results is used to demonstrate how people are more likely to mistreat people when provided with a legitimizing...
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...Comparison Between Milgram and Zimbardo’s Internationally Renowned Attempts at Ethics in Social Science Experiments David Baxter Park University SO220 Ethical Issues in Social Science Kris Reichart-Anderson 2 October 2011 Abstract For years many experiments have been scrutinized for their ineffective use or lack of establishment of ethical principles within their research. Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram’s Obedience experiment were ridiculed for the lack of ethics involved. Although these experiments caused unnecessary harm to their subjects they also acted as the foundation for the establishment of the Belmont Report, which in itself, would change research forever. Ethics in the Name of Science Two very controversial experiments have been dissected a thousand times over by some of social science’s most amazing minds as well as the academic populous worldwide. Though the Milgram experiment of 1962 and the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971 were entirely different, they both shared the groundbreaking task of identifying the affects of “Obedience to Authority” (Milgram, 1974). Both social scientists believe they had identified the possible risks but fell short in their attempt to alleviate any ethical repercussions. This paper will address the attempts made to ensure moral and ethical studies were accomplished as well as identify where both experiments had major flaws in their plans to ensure no physical or emotional harm came to it’s subjects. ...
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