Carlo Prescott was a consultant to Zimbardo in the SPE, according to the video that Zimbardo/Stanford produced (Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Experiment). In the video, he is introduced by name by Zimbardo, and also appears several times on the original footage of the experiment.
Vivian Hamilton Portland Community College Mike Palij wrote: >On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 02:03:50 -0400. Stephen Black wrote: >> On 13 Sep 2006 at 10:59, Annette Taylor, Ph. D. wrote: >> >> > And would one of those individuals lucky enough to be in >> > canada agree to tape this program and make it available to >> > us lucky enough to be in the us (I guess) for our private >> > viewing pleasure? >> > >> > Thanks to a potentially kind neighbor up north (brrr) > >If an electronic version (i.e., CD/DVD) of the program and >post-program discussion becomes available I'd be interested >in it. > >> [snip] >> My copy includes the main event, plus an hour of discussion >> with military and non-military authorities, including the woman >> who was in charge of Abu Ghraib at the time of the prisoner >> tortures. She was, not unexpectedly, rather defensive. > >This would be Janis Karpinski who was described in the PBS >Frontline program on Abu Ghraib as "Brigadier General in charge >of the 800th Military Police Brigade in Iraq, where she supervised >detention operations at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere." I want to >clearly identify her because of something that she says later >(see her comments and more about this program at: >http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/paper/reports.html ) >Again, quoting her from the website: > >|To date, she is the most senior officer to be punished in >|the scandal. Karpinski suggests that the individuals >|court-martialed in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse did not >|come up with the tactics seen in the notorious photographs >|on their own. "I know, with no doubt, that these soldiers >|didn't wake up that morning and say: 'Hey, let's go screw >|with some prisoners tonight,'" she tells FRONTLINE. >|". Lynndie England surely did not show up in Iraq with >|a dog collar and a dog leash." > >It would be interesting to hear if she had more to say on >these points and whether others addressed them. > >Stay with me, I'll make the connection to Madonna and >Zimbardo shortly. > >While doing some research on the "Human Behavior Experiments" >documentary (there is some info on the Sundarnce channel which >aired it earlier this year) I came across a rather curious letter by a >person named Carlo Prescott about the Stanford Prison >Experiment which was published in the Stanford school newspaper >"The Stanford Daily" and is entitled "The Lie of the Stanford >Prison Experiment" (a Google search turned this up and you >can locate it yourself by using the author's name and Zimbardo >and/or Stanford prison experimnet or see >http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/4/28/theLieOfTheStanfordPrisonExperiment >or >http://tinyurl.com/qwycw) > >Precott's letter starts off by referring to an article in the entertainment >trade journal "Variety" which reports that Madonna's multimedia >company "Maverick Entertainment" is considering making a movie >about the Stanford Prison Experimnet. I couldn't locate this article >in Variety through database searches but did find an article in the >San Francisco Chronicle that confirms this claim. Quoting from the >article: > >|Madonna's company, Maverick, has been tossing around the idea >|for a movie version of Zimbardo's 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, >|but he says nothing's definite yet, and he knows these projects >|sometimes evaporate. Meanwhile, he's finishing a book, "The Lucifer >|Effect: Why Good People Turn Evil,'' about "the power of situations >|to corrupt good people.'' Zimbardo testified at the court-martial of >|Ivan "Chip" Frederick, accused of mistreating Abu Ghraib prisoners. >|Frederick was a model of good behavior and all-around niceness >|when he joined the military, Zimbardo says. Becoming part of the >|court- martial gave Zimbardo access to records and reports of what >|happened in Iraq, which is part of his book. >Leah Garchik. San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, Calif.: >Sep 30, 2005. pg. E.24 >If you have access to proquest, the entire article is available at: >http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=904683231&sid=2&Fmt=3&cli >entId=60765&RQT=309&VName=PQD >or >http://tinyurl.com/jymsy > >Returning to Prescott's letter, his main point is that Zimbardo's >argument about the "power of the situation" in changing people >is questionable, in part, because of the part he (Prescott) played >in it. As Prescott says in his letter: > >|I say this not because I am an African American ex-con who >|served 17 years in San Quentin for attempted murder or one >|who spoke before Congress on the issue of prison reform. I >|say it because I was the Stanford Prison Experiment's chief >|consultant. I armed the Zimbardo, Craig Haney and Curt Banks >|with the ideas that enabled them to infuse this study with the >|verisimilitude that it hangs its hat on to this day. And shouldn't. > >Prescott goes on to say: > >|Regrettably, the gulf between verisimilitude and real prison life >|is a huge leap of faith that still raises serious issues of validity >|from the get-go. Nevertheless,ideas such as bags being placed >|over the heads of prisoners, inmates being bound together with >|chains and buckets being used in place of toilets in their cells >|were all experiences of mine at the old "Spanish Jail" section >|of San Quentin and which I dutifully shared with the Stanford >|Prison Experiment braintrust months before the experiment >|started. To allege that all these carefully tested, psychologically >|solid, upper-middle-class Caucasian "guards" dreamed this up >|on their own is absurd. > >So, Prescott claims that the certain practices like putting >bags over peoples, etc., were suggested by him to Zimbardo >and his colleagues (however, as can be seen in HBE not all >of Precott's recommendations above were implemented). >If Prescott's statements are true, this might suggest why there are >such strong parallels between the Stanford Prison Experiment >and Abu Ghraib: certain types of "old-fashioned" prisoner >procedures were used in both. It is interesting to note that >one of the reservists at the prison mentions in HBE that they >did not have training in being prison guards (though i do seem >to remember that one of two had been prison guards in real life). >An unanswered question regarding Abu Ghraib is who told the >guards what to do and who provided the hoods and the dog >collar and leash? Does the post film discussion provide >any answers? > >As for Carlo Prescott, I had not heard of him prior to >finding his letter to the Stanford Daily (I should note that >there are no comments/responses to it on the webpage). >I did a search on his name in Proquest and found two >interesting newspaper articles that mention him: > >EX-CON: "MAKING IT" >Oakland Post (1968-1976). Oakland, Calif.: May 21, 1975. >Vol. 11, Iss. 58; p. 5 > >Prison Reform Conference >Sun Reporter (1968-1979). San Francisco, Calif.: May 26, 1973. >Vol. XXX, Iss. 21; p. 7 > >Interestingly, in both articles Prescott is named and in the Oakland >Post he is identified as "a consultant in a prison experiment at Stanford >University". Apparently Prescott, who at the time possessed no >college degree, taught a 10 week seminar at Stanford. The Sun >Reporter states "...Carlo Prescott, a former prisoner who lectured >on the psychology of imprisonment under Zimbardo in 1971". >However, I remind one of the cautions in using of secondary sources >and the popular media. > >Curiousier and curiouser. > >-Mike Palij >New York University >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> Stephen >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- >> Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. >> Department of Psychology >> Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> 2600 College St. >> Sherbrooke QC J1M 0C8 >> Canada > > > >--- >To make changes to your subscription go to: >http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english > > --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
