As promised, I'm gonna nerd up forums a bit, and bring you guys some awesome (and slightly disturbing) psych experiments Before the 1980's, there wasn't really many limitations on the kinds of experiments researchers could do, as there were very little ethical guidelines. Because of this, experimenters could get away with a lot This first experiment is one of the more famous and disturbing What was it for? The aim of the experiment was to assess whether personalities can be altered by positions of power or authority. What was the setup? 24 male college students were randomly assigned to play the role of either prisoner or prison guard. The researcher, Zimbardo, played the role of Superintendent. A makeshift prison was set up in a basement of Stanford University, and the experiment was due to run for 14 days. What happened? The first day was pretty uneventful, but by the second day, everyone had started to adapt to their roles. The dudes who had been assigned as prisoners started refusing to follow orders, and began attacking the guards. The guards began to psychologically torture the prisoners, setting up a reward and punishment system. Some of the stuff they made prisoners do included sleeping on cold concrete, using a bucket as a 'bathroom', locking them in a closet as solitary confinement, beating them with wooden bats, starving them, and making them strip naked How did it end? The experiment was cut short after 6 days, due to 1/3 of the guards being genuinely sadistic and cruel to prisoners. The prisoners themselves began showing severe anxiety and withdrawal. The experimenter, Zimbardo, reported even he was drawn into the position of power, observing the abuse and letting it continue. The conclusions? Zimbardo concluded that the situation, not the individuals' personality, caused the guys to behave so badly. It showed that some people in a position of power let it go to their heads, especially when they have the support of someone above them. They can zone out themselves and their morals when expected to fulfil a role What do you guys think of this experiment? Can you imagine yourself torturing people, just because you're expected to do so?
Thanks Mandi I thought it was pretty crazy how fast they got so bad.. Only 6 days and only one person? ?
Yes, that was an amazing experiment. Yeah, power changes people. I'd probably torture people as many people as I can. Not women though, female abuse disgusts me. You should keep making threads like this Op.
Thanks Justin! There are so many experiments like this one that are fascinating! Hoping to do a few
Yeah that's kinda craxy. Only took 6 days for them to go nuts and let power go to their head. And I meant there's only one person on earth that I'd wanna torture lol.
It's hard not to compare it to other instances throughout history particularly several incidents in World War 2 where torture and sadism were rampant. ?
True Melzy, I'm definitely glad for experimental ethics these days.. Rina, you're a psych kid too? Ahh, gotcha Mandi lol
Exactly, Nick! I think it can be applied to any role of power, from bosses enjoying making people do menial tasks, right up to the extreme situations like war
actually it only took 2 days for them to go insane with power! One of the guys suffered severe anxiety/depression/stress on the second day and was sent home early. Yes I love psych! ps. Sorry if I repeated what was said earlier
Yeah, Rina! I skipped the part where the guards heard a rumour that the guy sent home early was gonna break in and free the others, so they moved the whole experiment elsewhere