Criminal: Topic Six Flashcards
What is topic 6?
Effects of imprisonment
What is the key research?
Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment
What was Zimbardo’s aim?
To test the dispositional hypothesis about whether it is the individuals or the situation that made prisons brutal
How did Z recruit P’s?
Through a newspaper ad which asked males to take part in a study of ‘prison life’
What was the incentive for Z’s ‘experiment’?
$15 a day
How long was Z’s study supposed to last?
1-2 weeks
How many potential p’s were there and what was this narrowed down to?
75 potential p’s which was narrowed down to 24
How did Z select the 24 P’s?
By choosing the most stable as discovered through use of a questionnaire and interview into family background, mental/physical health history and involvement in crime
What roles were P’s allocated to? (Zimbardo)
Either ‘prisoner’ or ‘guard’
P’s had to sign a contract, what did the contract make clear? (Zimbardo)
That ‘prisoners’ were under surveillance and should expect suspended rights (excluding physical abuse)
What were ‘guards’ told to do? (Zimbardo)
To ‘maintain the reasonable degree of order within the prison necessary for it’s effective functioning’
What did the guards wear and what was the purpose of this?
They wore khaki uniforms with sunglasses and carried a police nightstick (to suggest control, power and machismo)
What did the prisoners wear and what was the purpose of this?
They wore smocks with ID numbers and a cap made from a nylon stocking (for deindividuation, depersonalisation, emasculation and humiliation)
After how many days was the study stopped and why?
It was stopped after 6 days due to the zeal of the guards and the deterioration of the prisoners (as the guards became abusive)
How many prisoners were ‘released’ and why?
5 prisoners were released due to extreme emotional depression, crying, rage and anxiety (aka ‘pathological prisoner syndrome’)
