Stanford Prison Experiment: 40 years later

[sabotabby]

Stanford Magazine has an article with a series of interviews from researchers and participants in the Stanford Prison Experiment. It's a fascinating read, especially when you see what some of the people involved have ended up doing with their lives.

Some choice quotes:

If someone had said that in six days you can take 10 healthy college kids, in good health and at the peak of resilience, and break them down by subjecting them to things that are commonplace and relatively mild by the standards of real prisons—I'm not sure I would have believed it, if I hadn't seen it happen.
— Craig Haney, SPE researcher, now a professor and prison reform advocate

One thing that I thought was interesting about the experiment was whether, if you believe society has assigned you a role, do you then assume the characteristics of that role? I teach at an inner city high school in Oakland. These kids don't have to go through experiments to witness horrible things. But what frustrates my colleagues and me is that we are creating great opportunities for these kids, we offer great support for them, why are they not taking advantage of it? Why are they dropping out of school? Why are they coming to school unprepared? I think a big reason is what the prison study shows—they fall into the role their society has made for them.
— Richard Yacco, SPE prisoner, now a schoolteacher

People will sometimes come up to me—at conferences, or maybe they're students who have taken psychology classes—and they'll say, "Oh my God, you're such a hero! What is it like to be a hero?" And it's always a little surprising to me because it sure didn't feel heroic at the time. The prison study has given me a new understanding of what "heroism" means. It's not some egocentric, I'm-going-to-rush-into-that-burning-building thing—it's about seeing something that needs to be addressed and saying, I need to help and do something to make it better.
— Christina Maslach, the whistleblower, now a professor

Comments

[secretsoflife.livejournal.com]

wow, thanks for linking to this. it's amazing, and depressing, how little some things have changed in 40 years.

have you heard of "The Wave", a similar experiment that happened at a Palo Alto high school not long before the Stanford experiment? There's a new documentary out about it, but I heard an interview about it on the cbc back in april. fascinating stuff. there's a kinda shitty 1981 made-for-tv-special about it called "the wave", it's on piratebay if you're interested.

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

I've seen the special. I did not know that there was a documentary.

[infintysquared.livejournal.com]

Ahh. I did not know that it WAS a documentary. I read The Wave back in school, and lumped it roughly in as "1984 in high school."

*checks Wikipedia* Okay, yes, the book that I read WAS a novel, but it was indeed based on the 1967 "Third Wave" social experiment. That much, I hadn't known at the time.

[outcastspice.livejournal.com]

thanks for the link! fascinating.

[ltmurnau.livejournal.com]

The Stanford Prison Experiment, the Stanley Milgram compliance experiment, and "The Wave" event alluded to above are three constant reminders to me of how far we have to go, sometimes... or how easy it is to slip back from how far we've come.

I saw "Lesson Plan" at this year's film festival in town, and it was good. Also saw "Die Welle", a German film made about the same thing being done at a German high school (Welle means Wave). And yes, I remember watching the 1981 crappy Made for TV special too! I had already read about the experiment in The Last Whole Earth Catalog, or something like that.

[ltmurnau.livejournal.com]

Oh, and of course the Germans did a Stanford film recently as well: "Das Experiment", starring Moritz Bleibtreu, Franka Potente's loser boyfriend in "Run Lola Run".

Die Welle http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1063669/
Das Experiment: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250258/

[delux-vivens.livejournal.com]

whoops,sorry. thought this was sparky's lj.

[sabotabby]

No worries! I am always willing to talk about the failures of the public education system.

Completely Off Topic

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

Have I forced you to watch Black Books yet? It's a Brit-com about an abusive alcoholic Irish bookstore owner. The music is very Tom Waits-inspired. There is frequent evil phone humor and the pilot makes fun of fluffy affirmation books, skinheads and Jehovah's Witnesses:

Re: Completely Off Topic

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

The lead played the preppie in Shaun of the Dead.

Re: Completely Off Topic

[sabotabby]

I've seen some of Black Books but not nearly enough.

Re: Completely Off Topic

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

I have all three seasons on DVD. They are, of course, short seasons because it is the BBC. I've already promised them to a friend, but I can lend them to you next, if you can't torrent them. You may be able to find them all on You Tube, albeit in thirds.

Re: Completely Off Topic

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

Speaking of books and substance abuse ...

[syndicalist.livejournal.com]

Hey you.

How are you?

I'm on Facebook and Google Plus.... kvltunk@gmail.com or "Oliver Sheppard."

Would love to see you there!

[sadie-sabot.livejournal.com]

thanks for posting this. What really struck me when I read it was how nonchalant the guys who'd been guards were, like none of it was really so bad, while everyone else found it shocking and horrifying. i think that tells us soooo much, you know?