BBC The Experiment - Prison Study - Podcast from Open University website

An important study in human behavior, used in psychology lessons around the world.

This was party funded by the UK TV Licence payers (myself included). I'm disgusted that this series isn't available to watch somewhere on the internet. At the very least, the BBC should put it on the iplayer, or repeat the series on one of their channels.

This is all the video I could find on The Experiment, apart from the trailer for the series, which someone was nice enough to upload.

If anyone knows where people interested could see it, please share with us in the comments.

Category:

Education

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• The
• Experiment
• Prison
• Study
• Alex
• Haslam
• Steve
• Reicher
• Social
• Psychology

[StevenJonWest]

If Zimbardo actually told or invited the guards to use violence and dehumanise the prisoners, then his study is very clearly flawed. All it suggests is that someone will do what they are told! It seems to only show what the Milgram experiment did...

As for The Experiment, it seems they picked all the beta males for the roles of Prison Officer, and all the alpha males for the Prisoners. Hence why the Prison Officers were able to be bullied so much by the Prisoners shown above.

[voltagedrop]

The fact that Dr. Zimbardo looks like the Devil may have adversely affected his study.

[grobby2]

Fail! First the Zimbardo study was not tainted by Reality show bias and narcism. 2. It is clear that the guards and prisoners realize they are on a stage and that this is indeed fake. In the Zimbardo study neither of realities were present. If these men were on a deserted island, with no so landing waiting for them at the end of the show, they would quickly and violently take to the roles of oppresser and oppressed

[sickcellmate]

@nonaligned I partly agree, the fact that the "prisoners" didn't actually commit any crime led the guards to be morally inclined not to treat them like criminals. They felt ashamed for their better food and better beds. In a real prison, the prisoners are there for a reason, therefore the guards probably don't feel bad if their food is bad, etc. However, I doubt that every real prisoner feels ashamed and guilty for their crimes and therefore acts submissive.

[ChristophDollis]

Maybe the British prison system doesn't hire total pussies to guard their prisons?

[nonaligned]

This researchers seem to fail to take into account that real prisons are driven by societal powerrelations upheld by law, guilt, shame, prison guard salary, prison manager authorship, societal authorship and other factors. It's difficult to pretend to be instantiated as prisoner positioned by a power hierarchy normally reinforced by once own sense of guilt and shame, when the experiment reeks of laboratory setting, and that you have basically nothing to anchor your prisoner status in.

[BravSoldat]

Absolute failure.

[daisybduck]

I also think that there are limitations in Zimbardo prison experiment...as well as the Milgram's obedience experimrnt.

[QuincyAshley]

Reminds of what is happening in the Middle East. Groups fighting against tyrannie.