Stanford Prison Experiment (in Links)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_rus6l66l8&feature=related

The link is a video about a famous psychology experiment from the 1970s that tested human behavior and pushed research ethics. One group of students take the role of prisoners while another group of peers act like prison guards. How they reacted to the newfound roles is worth watching.

It's YouTube, so there are six 8-minute clips that comprise the documentary. If you get bored, give it a go.

My drunk posts are better than yours.

Was thinking of this exact experiment last week. Was watching "What would you do?" and the person next to me gets self righteous exposing themselves for the hero they would be if they were there. They got peeved when I pointed out they wouldn't and pointing out when they didn't. Was only being helpful. ;)

If this is how you post when drunk, then yes, much better by far.

it is odd how you never hear of something and then it comes up all the time. about a week ago i watched national geographic's the science of evil where they interviewed the lead researcher in the stanford experiment during part of the show.

Phil Zimbardo. He's done a TED on it, as well. But then he became a Dr. Phil go-to guy. This is what happens when academics get old and realize academia didn't pay.

I demand a link. I'm far too important to use that "google" thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PGnHHnRMk

I would say that Milgram's experiment (and all the subsequent ones by many others, even as recently as last year) regarding "blind obedience" is almost as disturbing and quite related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Last time I attended an institute of higher learning there where some serious questions about the methodology of the Stanford Prison Experiment. It was viewed as more anecdotal than rigorous.


(*disclaimer: 'attended an institute of higher learning' may be overstating my visit to the set of Frasier but the foley artist was totally convincing and later when I asked the lighting guy he agreed... oh, and I totally hit on Jane Leeves... unsuccessfully)

Thanks for the video link. I'd heard of the experiment, but I never saw more than short clips of it.