Experimental Psychology

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that the prison study created an abnormal environment in order to examine the reactions of regular people to this environment. The paper details the study and illustrates the humiliation and control techniques used. The paper shows how this abnormal psychology study helped researchers understand how humiliation and confinement affect the mind, how people cope with those situations and how power can corrupt people.

From the Paper:

"The study began with newspaper ads recruiting college students to be prisoners for two weeks. Twenty-four applicants were finally were approved for the study. They were divided into two groups, guards and prisoners, totally randomly. The actual "prison" was constructed in the basement of the Stanford psychology building, and it contained cells and a "yard" (actually a corridor) where the prisoners could exercise once each day. The researchers consulted law enforcement officers, ex-convicts, and other experts to make the entire prison experience as realistic as possible. The prison cells looked remarkably realistic; it even contained a "hole" or solitary confinement cell for prisoners who misbehaved."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alexander, Meredith. "Thirty Years Later, Stanford Prison Experiment Lives On." Prisonexp.org. 22 Aug. 2001. 9 Jan. 2007.<http://www.prisonexp.org/30years.htm>
• Bronstein, Phyllis A., and Kathryn Quina, eds. Teaching a Psychology of People: Resources for Gender and Sociocultural Awareness. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1988.
• Giles, David. Media Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003.
• O'Toole, Kathleen. "The Stanford Prison Experiment: Still Powerful After All These Years." Stanford University. 8 Jan. 1997. 9 Jan. 2007.<http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/97/970108prisonexp.html>
• Stannard, Matthew B. "Stanford Experiment Foretold Iraq Scandal." San Francisco Chronicle. 8 May 2004. 9 January 2007.<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/08/MNGN76IG761.DTL>

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• Essay # 33152 : " An Experimental Study"

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