Knowledge: After completing this workshop, you will:
Know the main points and findings of the Stanford Prison experiment, conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1973
Understand the APA Ethics Principles and how they relate to psychological research
Skills: In this workshop, you will focus on building skills in:
Identifying ethical considerations and violations in psychological research
Redesigning an experiment to minimize ethical violations
Writing about scientific research
Activity – the Stanford Prison experiment
In Workshop 2, we’ll read about a classic psychological study, the Stanford Prison experiment. Then, we’ll practice some of our Chapter 3 skills in identifying claims and assessing validity. Finally, we’ll get into the meat of the ethics debate – how would this study hold up to the IRB today?
Read
Hock, R. R. (1995). “Reading 37: A Prison by Any Other Name”. In Forty studies that changed psychology: Explorations into the history of psychological research (pp. 287-294). Prentice-Hall, Inc.
^ (available in module as PDF)
Part 1. Identifying claims
Let’s summarize the claims being made by Phillip Zimbardo in the Stanford Prison experiment.
First, what were the variables in the study? Give one independent variable and one dependent variable.
For each of your two variables above, identify if they were manipulated or measured variables.
How did Zimbardo claim that the two variables are related? What type of claim is this (hint – use your variables: Frequency, Association, or Causal)? Answer both questions.
Finally, which type of validity should Zimbardo have been most concerned with, external or internal validity? Why?
Part 2. Considering the ethics of the Stanford Prison study
Using what we learned in Chapter 4, let’s discuss the ethical considerations of the Stanford Prison study. Pretend that you are a sitting member of a committee at Stanford University, and Philip Zimbardo has submitted a new proposal to study how environment affects behavior, a proposal that will become the Stanford Prison Experiment. Your job is to assess if the proposal meets the APA Ethical standards.
What committee are you probably a part of at Stanford (hint – refresh your memory on p. 100)?
What does the Stanford Prison experiment do RIGHT in terms of ethical considerations? Give one example.
In your opinion, which APA Ethics principle are you most concerned about in this study? Why?
