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FROM "THE PRISON SIMULATION" BY HANEY, BANKS & ZIMBARDO
Haney, C., Banks, W.C. & Zimbardo, P.G. (1973). A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Naval Research Review, 30, 4-17.
Introduction
Some psychological studies produce very surprising results for the researchers and the participants. Sometimes the results are so striking that they challenge our explanations of human behaviour and human motivation. One such study is the Milgram study described in chapter 1. Another one is the work of Zimbardo and his associates.
The central question in the study concerns how much of our behaviour is structured by the social roles that we occupy. One of the famous 'soundbites' from Shakespeare is, "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players" (As You Like It). The 'life is drama' metaphor is developed in role theory and the work of, among other, Erving Goffman. This approach to human behaviour and experience suggests that we are what we play, and a limited sense of selfhood and identity is shaped by the demands of the situation we are in.
The study
Twenty-four subjects were selected from an initial pool of 75 respondents to a newspaper advertisement which had asked for male volunteers to participate in a psychological study of prison life. The volunteers completed a questionnaire and interview to screen subjects, and the selected people were described as 'normal' healthy male college students who were predominantly middle class and White.
The simulated prison was created in the basement of the Psychology Department at Stanford University. It was made up of three cells (each 6ft x 9ft) with three prisoners to a cell. A broom cupboard (2ft x 2ft x 7ft) was converted into a 'solitary confinement room'. Several rooms in an adjacent wing of the building were used as guards' rooms, interview rooms and a bedroom for the 'warden' (Zimbardo). There was also a small enclosed room used as a 'prison yard' in which there was an observation window behind which was video equipment, and room for several observers.
The subjects were randomly assigned their roles of either 'prisoner' or 'guard', and signed contracts on that basis. The contract offered $15 a day and guaranteed basic living needs, though it was made explicit to the prisoners that some basic civil rights (for example, privacy) would be suspended. The prisoners were given no information about what to expect and no instructions on how to behave. The guards were told to "maintain the reasonable degree of order within the prison necessary for its effective functioning" (p. 6), though they were explicitly prohibited from using physical aggression.
The prisoner subjects remained in the mock-prison 24 hours a day for the duration of the study. Nine were arbitrarily assigned three to each cell and the remaining three were on stand-by at home. The 'guard' subjects worked on three-man eight-hour shifts, and went home after their shifts.
Both sets of subjects were given uniforms to promote feelings of anonymity. The guards uniform (plain khaki shirt and trousers, whistle, baton, and reflecting sun glasses) was intended to convey a military attitude and to give symbols of power. The prisoners uniform (loose fitting smock, number on front and back, no underwear, light chain and lock around ankle, rubber sandals and a cap made from nylon stocking) was intended to be uncomfortable, humiliating and to create symbols of subservience and dependence.
Zimbardo obtained the help of the local police department to unexpectedly 'arrest' the 'prisoner' subjects. A police officer charged them with suspicion of burglary or armed robbery, advised them of their rights, handcuffed them, thoroughly searched them (often in full view of the neighbours!) and drove them to the police station. Here they had their fingerprints and picture taken and were put in a detention cell. They were then blindfolded and... [continued in the pdf file that can be downloaded free - see the link in the left hand column]
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These 2 summaries are extracted from Introducing Psychological Research. The first is from The Prison Simulation, a fascinating study of human behaviour, and you can read the introductory paragraphs on the right-hand side of this page.
The second considers the question of whether participants in psychological research studies adopt behaviours peculiar to psychology study participants.
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