The Stanford Prison Experiment Psychology Essay

The human mind is a very complex organ which contains many psychological components that are infinite to comprehend. Social constructionism is a field that can be broken down into two different paths, socials and psychological behavior. The two films the Stanford Prison Experiment and The Hunting Ground are good examples of both of these processes. The topics of these films are very relevant to the field of psychology due to their contribution to our everyday psychological brain functions.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was conceived by Phillip Zimbardo with the aim of the Experiment being to observe and analyse the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or a prison guard. The experiment was funded by the United States Office of Naval Research who wanted to study anti-social behaviour 24 individuals were chosen for the experiment, all of them college age males (The story: An overview of the experiment, 1999). The individuals were assigned the role of prisoner or guard at random. With the aid of a consultant, the basement of Stanford University was converted into a realistic prison environment, with multiple cells, a solitary confinement chamber and a two way intercom, allowing guards to listen in on what the prisoners were saying.

Purpose: “A simulated prison will be established somewhere in the vicinity of Palo Alto, Stanford, to study a number of problems of psychological and sociological relevance.” Taken from: http://pdf.prisonexp.org/geninfo.pdf Participants: Educated, male, American university students, with no prior psychological issues. Procedure: Convert the basement of the Stanford Psychology Department into a mock jail center, where barred windows and doors had been put into place, making the simulation of prison as real as possible, with one “solidarity” room for misbehaving prisoners. Advertise the experiment to look for volunteers.

In the film 13th we see examples of how prison guards act in a real life situation. Brutality and humiliation are common place in this environment especially when race is involved. Both of these scenarios are vastly different, the 13th dealing with the prison system from a racial standpoint as well as a breakdown of how the prison system works once you are in it, while the Stanford experiment focuses on how people react under the extreme conditions of a prison environment. Both situations have to deal with the breakdown of men and how they are reprogrammed to conform to the new set of laws they must now live

This reveals that after constant manipulation the victims brain is traumatized and is left with an ability to find change. Lastly, most men in the ward find Nurse Ratched to be scary and something to be reckoned with. The fear of Nurse Ratched causes the men to see most women as scary monsters and something to be hated. For example Harding is revealed to have many problems with his wife. “Touch upon the—subject, Mr. McMurry, the subject of Mr. Harding’s problem with his wife” (Kesey, 436).

The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in the year of 1871 by the psychologist and professor Philip Zimbardo. The aim of the experiment was to see if the roles as a prison guard or a prisoner would affect their behaviour towards their roles they were randomly given and their role in society. The Stanford Prison Experiment was a Social Experiment which refers to the participants of the experiment being randomly selected, as each of the 24 males who participated were either selected as a prisoner who sits in a cell and follow instructions that the prisoner guards give or being selected as a prison guard who is outside the cells giving the instructions and keeping the prisoners in line. This experiment also has many extraneous variables

When men are incarcerated, gender issues often become heightened as they seek power or control in the prison. According to Kupers (2005), toxic masculinity involves “the need to aggressively compete and dominate others.” This concept may contribute to certain groups holding more power over others, and leads to the formation of dynamics between sub-communities within the prison. Toxic masculinity frequently results in male offenders resisting mental health treatment or other psychotherapy, since it could be perceived by other inmates as a “vulnerability”. Therefore, male offenders often underreport their emotional issues, and may not reach out for help until they have developed suicidal ideation or psychotic symptoms, (Kupers, 2005).

The guards took matters into their own hands and drove the prisoners out of their cells. The guards began to take on cruel and sadistic behaviors by humiliating the prisoners with menial tasks such as cleaning their latrines with their bare hands. After the sixth day the experiment was terminated because it was immoral to the prisoner group, of which lost three members due to mental breakdowns. It was concluded that many people tend to fit into social norms and don’t consider personal responsibility even for acts that are

The guards were cruel and even made the prisoners do menial tasks. The prisoners also broke and could no longer control their emotions, some prisoners also went into depression. For example, one prisoner had to be released after 36 hours because of uncontrollable bursts of screaming, crying and anger. But, the experiment had long term effects that Zimbardo thought to be superior to the short-term effects, hence he decided to continue the experiment. Zimbardo chose to get the long-term effects instead of worrying about the short-term effects.

Okonkwo was a big supporter of physical and verbal abuse in his home, especially towards his wives and Nwoye. To Okonkwo, physical abuse was another language. This is how he spoke, and punished, on the occasion of the abuse, and how he had handled the situation. Women was treated poorly in Umuofia because men believe that they were weak and in inadequate. “ Even as a little boy Okonkwo had represented his father 's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was Agbala.

In 1971 Standford University held an experiment to see the psychological changes in people who are given higher authority and those who are not due to the way they act around one another. In this experiment a group of college students were split into two groups, one of which were to be prison guards and the others the prisoners. Throughout the course of the study psychologists were able to study the change in atmosphere and development of people from each group.

References Haney, C., Banks, W.C. & Zimbardo, P.G. (1973). A Study of Prisoners and Guards in a Simulated Prison. Naval Research Review, 30,

Their power was unlimited; they had no boundaries. Because of this, they started doing small, evil acts, which quickly escalated to larger-scale acts of near malice. For the “prisoners”, the system was unsteadily and randomly created and reliant upon the “guards”, creating a very unhealthy system

Throughout the vivid examples of his memoir, what shocked me the most about prison life, is that the structure of correctional facilities are meant to bring degradation to the inmate from the very moment they arrive, to the moment they are released once again into society. To explain the degradation ceremony, Williams gives various examples, including the humiliation inmates experience when they are subject to a strip search (Williams, 40). Not only are inmates subject to the humiliation of being completely naked as a prison guard searches their body, but when in the shower-room, inmates are forced to shower in front of one another with no individualistic privacy; Williams states, that perhaps the thing that bothered him the most while incarcerated, was the fact that he was not able to hug his mother when she drove numerous miles to visit him (Williams, 46 & 47). In my opinion, the visiting restriction of not being able to hug your loved ones is the most psychologically degrading act that prisons can enforce. As I put myself in Williams shoes and think of how I would feel being subject to the many degrading things that occur inside these facilities, I wonder what is enough rehabilitation?

Is the Prison Fellowship program effective among successful ex-offenders post imprisonment? Researchers have shown that social traits and the psychological well-being of an ex-convict are both challenging phases in the process of adjusting into society. In a classical experimental design, this study will seek to observe social behaviors and mental health changes among inmates prior to booking, while in prison, and post-imprisonment over the course of two years. The goal of the study is to examine changes over social and mental health qualities between those participating in the program and those who are not. The experimental group will consist of men and women who are active in the program while incarcerated, and the control group will consist