A Review of the Stanford Prison Experiment
By
Andrew Scudder
PSYC 1111
In the Stanford Prison Experiment, the general idea was that prisons do not work when it comes to the rehabilitation of inmates. On the contrary, prisons only succeed in the further distancing of those incarcerated and those in charge of upholding the law. Once a prisoner has served their time, they are more likely to commit another crime. The Stanford Prison Experiment suggests that the relationship between guard and prisoner is one of the reasons for this lack of rehabilitation. This experiment consisted of twenty-one participants. All of whom were collage age males. Ten of the participants were designated as prisoners and eleven were designated as guards. The prisoners were put into a simulated prison which included individual cells, created by fabric, a small closet which was called solitary confinement, and a “prison yard”. There was also quarters for the guards and the …show more content…
The downside of the experiment was that it was just a simulation. It could not truly reflect the harshness of prison life. The threat of physical abuse or even loss of life was not present. Nor was the very real possibility of having one’s sentence extended due to infractions of prison law. In my opinion these are two of the leading reasons why prison can break a prisoner spirit. Even though these were not factors, the experiment clearly showed how prison can affect an inmates mental focus. While there are some realities of prison that cannot be ethically duplicated, one thing that could be changed is the location. Find a more prison like setting. Instead of having sheets form the rooms, find a location where there are actually rooms with doors that lock from the outside. The idea of having four solid walls could help to cement the concept of being in
By
Andrew Scudder
PSYC 1111
In the Stanford Prison Experiment, the general idea was that prisons do not work when it comes to the rehabilitation of inmates. On the contrary, prisons only succeed in the further distancing of those incarcerated and those in charge of upholding the law. Once a prisoner has served their time, they are more likely to commit another crime. The Stanford Prison Experiment suggests that the relationship between guard and prisoner is one of the reasons for this lack of rehabilitation. This experiment consisted of twenty-one participants. All of whom were collage age males. Ten of the participants were designated as prisoners and eleven were designated as guards. The prisoners were put into a simulated prison which included individual cells, created by fabric, a small closet which was called solitary confinement, and a “prison yard”. There was also quarters for the guards and the …show more content…
The downside of the experiment was that it was just a simulation. It could not truly reflect the harshness of prison life. The threat of physical abuse or even loss of life was not present. Nor was the very real possibility of having one’s sentence extended due to infractions of prison law. In my opinion these are two of the leading reasons why prison can break a prisoner spirit. Even though these were not factors, the experiment clearly showed how prison can affect an inmates mental focus. While there are some realities of prison that cannot be ethically duplicated, one thing that could be changed is the location. Find a more prison like setting. Instead of having sheets form the rooms, find a location where there are actually rooms with doors that lock from the outside. The idea of having four solid walls could help to cement the concept of being in