Perhaps people would not behave well without such controls. I think the
point here is a little different. In the Stanford Prison study, how
would the college student participants have acted if they had not been
given explicit suggestions about what to do? In watching the video it is
very clear that Prescott and Zimbardo are laying out rules for what the
"guards" can't do (physically hit the "prisoners") but also lots of
suggestions for what they can do (humiliate them, remove clothes, put
them in a closet, prevent them from leaving the study, etc.). In fact,
the "prison staff" help the "guards" extensively in the attempt to
prevent a rebellion (they physically move the cells to another
location). Zimbardo says on the tape that he took Would the students
assigned to be prison guards have thought up all this on their own or
would they just have passed the time for the two week duration by
playing cards, reading, listening to music, etc. Traditionally, I don't
think we think of the "power of the situation" as including explicit
instructions from superiors on how to act abusively.
Marie
Christopher D. Green wrote:
Mike Palij wrote:
...to what extent is the SPE a reflection of the "power of the
situation" instead of the failure of authority to properly control
its agents?
How is the "failure of authority to properly control its agents" NOT
an aspect of the "power of the situation"? It seems to me that lack of
explicit control from authority figures wouls, for many people,
constitute implicit permission to do more or less whatever one wants,
especially if a specific goal (e.g., "break them") is specified by
that same autrhority figure. You don't really think that people would
behave well toward each other if there WEREN'T laws, police, courts,
prisons, etc., do you?
Regards,
--
*********************************************
Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Dickinson College, P.O. Box 1773
Carlisle, PA 17013
Office: (717) 245-1562, Fax: (717) 245-1971
Webpage: www.dickinson.edu/~helwegm
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