Stanford Prison Study
To what extent can we use situational factors in explaining human behavior?
In psychology, reasons for human behavior can be divided into two factors; dispositional and situational. Dispositional factors pertain to internal specific characteristics a person possesses, such as their personality and such unchanging features. Situational factors on the other hand are external influences on a person outside of their control not dependent on the person themselves, but the surrounding environment and circumstances. The problem for psychologists is to what extent findings on human behavior can be explained through situational factors, and not factors of the individual themselves.
One of the most renowned studies supporting the significance of situational factors is the Stanford Prison study by Zimbardo (1971), where the effects of empowerment on a person's behavior were explored. The study involved 24 participants, selected from a larger pool of 70 undergraduate white male volunteers due to their lack of any criminal background, psychological and medical issues. The 24 participants were randomly divided into two groups; prison guards and prisoners. In a simulated prison environment, in the basement of Stanford university, the guards essentially had all control over the prisoners.
Originally the simulation was …show more content…
(1956) conducted an experiment on inter-group and outer-group conflict, which simply described mean a group you belong to and group you don't respectively. In the experiment, 22 white 11 year old boys were sent off to a special camp at Robbers Cave State Park. The boys, none of whom knew each other beforehand, were randomly divided into two equal groups. Kept in the dark of each others existence, the boys spent a week building an attachment to their group through various camp activities. After the week was over, the camp councilors introduced the other groups existence as well as a competition the groups would participate in against each
In psychology, reasons for human behavior can be divided into two factors; dispositional and situational. Dispositional factors pertain to internal specific characteristics a person possesses, such as their personality and such unchanging features. Situational factors on the other hand are external influences on a person outside of their control not dependent on the person themselves, but the surrounding environment and circumstances. The problem for psychologists is to what extent findings on human behavior can be explained through situational factors, and not factors of the individual themselves.
One of the most renowned studies supporting the significance of situational factors is the Stanford Prison study by Zimbardo (1971), where the effects of empowerment on a person's behavior were explored. The study involved 24 participants, selected from a larger pool of 70 undergraduate white male volunteers due to their lack of any criminal background, psychological and medical issues. The 24 participants were randomly divided into two groups; prison guards and prisoners. In a simulated prison environment, in the basement of Stanford university, the guards essentially had all control over the prisoners.
Originally the simulation was …show more content…
(1956) conducted an experiment on inter-group and outer-group conflict, which simply described mean a group you belong to and group you don't respectively. In the experiment, 22 white 11 year old boys were sent off to a special camp at Robbers Cave State Park. The boys, none of whom knew each other beforehand, were randomly divided into two equal groups. Kept in the dark of each others existence, the boys spent a week building an attachment to their group through various camp activities. After the week was over, the camp councilors introduced the other groups existence as well as a competition the groups would participate in against each