Active experiment is a way for humankind to produce reliable knowledge to a large extend. Active experiment can be used to confirm theories and speculations in order to come to an unbiased conclusion, allowing reliable knowledge to be conceived. However, as active experiments requires the isolation of an area of investigation, it is impractical, as some systems are greatly affected by external influences. Instead, passive observation can be used to produce reliable knowledge. Therefore, active observation is not the only way that can be used to produce reliable knowledge.
Active experiment is done by a researcher as he intervenes with a phenomenon by the manipulation and addition of various factors with the intent of gaining insight into
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The experiment was done to investigate whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons were due to the disposition of the guards or the negative environment which influenced their behaviours. In order to gain insight into this phenomenon, Zimbardo made use of psychologically and medically healthy individuals to play the role of guard and prisoner and placed them in a mock prison. Professor Zimbardo influenced the direction of the experiment by providing the guards with sunglasses as well as issuing batons. Procedures such as not allowing prisoners to use their names or not allowing them to wear underwear, making them wear women’s clothes et cetra were also implemented. These procedures prompted and gave authority to the guards to allow them to dehumanise the prisoners and the baton also suggests that physical force was acceptable and encouraged in order to instil …show more content…
This is crucial for the experiment to be carried out successfully.
Reason was used in order to determine and justify the variables and factors that has to be changed to guide the course of the experiment
Active experiment allows knowers to isolate one part of the system to conduct an in-depth experiment. However some areas of investigation works in tandem with other areas of investigation, therefore when one component is being cut away, the results would be greatly affected. Passive observation has to be used to come up with a full and comprehensive picture of the whole system. Passive observation requires the examination of patterns to glean valuable information regarding a particular
When it comes to the observation part of forming the experiment as well as after the experiment was done, a lot of groups observed the same things. The most significant observations were we observed the
Twenty-four average men were entered into a fake prison setting, twelve of which who had been given the role of prisoner and twelve with the role of guard. Throughout the course of the experiment we see the environment effect negatively on the actions of the group of guards, clearly demonstrating that situational forces can force a person to cross the line between good and evil. We see this heavily embodied in the guard Dave Eshelman AKA ‘John Wayne’ – nicknamed by the prisoners in the study – the most brutal guard of them all, the one who demonstrated all the findings on the influence of power and authority and human behaviour. “I was kind of running my own experiment in there, by saying, “How far can I push these things and how much abuse will these people take before they say, ‘knock it off?'” But the other guards didn’t stop me.
The laboratory experiment gives the experimenter a greater chance to control the conditions and enables you to measure behaviour with greater precision. This method also allows for quantative research and also enables greater control of variables. Although it gives the experimenter greater control, this can also seem daunting to the subject who may feel more uncomfortable and is less likely to ...
In this study Zimbardo chose 21 participants from a pool of 75, all male college students, screened prior for mental illness, and paid $15 per day. He then gave roles. One being a prisoner and the other being a prison guard, there were 3 guards per 8 hour shift, and 9 total prisoners. Shortly after the prisoners were arrested from their homes they were taken to the local police station, booked, processed, given proper prison attire and issued numbers for identification. Before the study, Zimbardo concocted a prison setting in the basement of a Stanford building. It was as authentic as possible to the barred doors and plain white walls. The guards were also given proper guard attire minus guns. Shortly after starting the experiment the guards and prisoners starting naturally assuming their roles, Zimbardo had intended on the experiment lasting a fortnight. Within 36 hours one prisoner had to be released due to erratic behavior. This may have stemmed from the sadistic nature the guards had adopted rather quickly, dehumanizing the prisoners through verbal, physical, and mental abuse. The prisoners also assumed their own roles rather efficiently as well. They started to rat on the other prisoners, told stories to each other about the guards, and placated the orders from the guards. After deindividuaiton occurred from the prisoners it was not long the experiment completely broke down ethically. Zimbardo, who watched through cameras in an observation type room (warden), had to put an end to the experiment long before then he intended
For the guards “brutality was a “natural” consequence of being in the uniform of a ‘guard’ and asserting the power inherent in that role”.The Milgram Experiment took place in 1961. It was members of the “general public” mostly men who volunteered to take part in the study. This scientific study was a “study of the memory”. In this experiment there were two roles administered. The two roles being; the “Teacher” and the “Learner”. The role of the Teacher was to administer “shocks of increasing magnitude (from 15 V to 450 V in 15-V increments) to another man (the ‘‘Learner’’) every time he failed to recall the correct word in a previously learned pair”. Without the knowledge of the teacher, the Learner was “Milgram's confederate, and the shocks were not real”. Also rather than being more interested in the memory like the study specified, Milgram was more engrossed upon how far men would actually go to carry out the task. At the end of the experiment it was to him and others shock that, “the answer was very far”. By very far it was proved that the Teachers were “willing to administer shocks of 300 v and 65% went all the way
The study began by arresting the prisoners at their respective houses unexpectedly. They were then taken to the mock prison and processed at they would be in a real prison. This included finger printing the prisoners, removing their clothes and belongings, and providing them a uniform. Inmates were then only referred to by the numbers on their uniform. The guards and inmates began to confirm to their roles very quickly. Although no physical violence was permitted, the guards harassed the inmate...
To begin the experiment the Stanford Psychology department interviewed middle class, white males that were both physically and mentally healthy to pick 18 participants. It was decided who would play guards and who would be prisoners by the flip of a coin making nine guards and nine prisoners. The guards were taken in first to be told of what they could and could not do to the prisoners. The rules were guards weren’t allowed t o physically harm the prisoners and could only keep prisoners in “the hole” for a hour at a time. Given military like uniforms, whistles, and billy clubs the guards looked almost as if they worked in a real prison. As for the prisoners, real police surprised them at their homes and arrested them outside where others could see as if they were really criminals. They were then blindfolded and taken to the mock prison in the basement of a Stanford Psychology building that had been decorated to look like a prison where guards fingerprinted, deloused, and gave prisoners a number which they would be calle...
The experiment was conducted in the Stanford Psychology department basement. The mock guards were told they could use anything to enforce prison rules except violence. Their goal was to be strict and psychologically demeaning to the prisoners. Guards were told to dehumanize the prisoners, calling them by their assigned number instead of their name. Zimbardo (1971) took the role as prison superintendent and watched over the guards and prisoners. To begin the experiment, Zimbardo (1971) cooperated with local law enforcement and had all 12 pri...
The debate over prison systems in the United States has been a long controversy. The question as to; if stuffing a facility full with convicted criminals to be guarded by a flock of civilian employees will foster progress. But a main factor that contributes, is the line between guard and civilian. A guard, while trained, is not a military personal. The power given to them over the lives of others when they are simply a citizen is not normal for everyday citizens. This is one of the things Dr. Phillip Zimbardo wanted to test in his prison experiment at Stanford University, working on staff. Zimbardo created a mock prison in the basement, drawing psychologically fit young gentlemen to see what would happen. In a short
When we do research on daily prison life, we come across two typical but less than ideal situations: either social imaginaries cloud our judgment or information provided by the prisons themselves hide certain weak or bad aspects that they do not want to make public. We can also find information on TV, but most of the time it either exaggerates or minimizes the facts. In order to obtain more reliable information, we have to have access to people who are working or have worked in this institution, and such will be the sources of this essay. We will be describing and giving examples of prison violence according to three types of violence: sexual, physical and psychological violence.
The Prison Simulation, studied by Haney, Banks & Zimbardo is quite impressive as to how extensive the study actually is. Due to lack of length in this paper the synopsis dealing with this study will be brief. The experiment consisted of 24 voluntary men who were divided into two groups: Guards and Inmates. Both groups were given uniforms to encourage their roles in the prison scenario. The subjects immediately began to take on rolls as to how they thought they should act. The prison had a much greater impact on all persons than could have been anticipated. The study was supposed to last 14 days, but due to extreme emotional depression the study ended after 6 days. In the spring of 1998, my Law a...
This experiment gathered twenty-one young men and assigned half of them to be “prisoners” and the other half to be “guards”. Simply put, the point of the experiment was to simulate a prison and observe how the setting and the given roles affected the behavior of the young men. The men who were given the roles of guard were given a position of authority and acted accordingly. This alone strongly influenced the behavior of both the guards and the prisoners. The guards had a sense of entitlement, control, and power, while the prisoners had a feeling of resentment and rebellion. Social pressure also played a crucial role in the experiment. Many of the guards began to exploit their power by abusing, brutalizing, and dehumanizing the prisoners. Some of the other guards felt wrong about this abuse, but did nothing to put an end to it. Finally, the situation and setting of the experiment immensely altered the conduct of both the prisoners and guards. The setting of being in a prison caused many of the volunteers to act in ways that they may have normally not. Even though the setting of being in a prison was essentially pretend, the volunteers accepted the roles they were given and acted as if it was all a reality. The prisoners genuinely behaved as if they were indeed real prisoners, and the guards treated them likewise. The situation these volunteers
problem, formation of hypothesis, data collections by observing and experimenting. At all stages of the
A team of scientists can observe the same phenomenon under investigation. They can then formulate a hypothesis to account for those behaviors. They can then form experiments so they can confirm or reject those hypothesis designed to explain the behavior of organisms.
In order for an experiment to be considered a true experimental design, the design must fit specific criteria. The researcher must have a hypothesis for a cause and effect relationship between variables, the treatment group, the control group, random selection for the treatment group, and random assignment for the control group. In a simple experiment, the researcher forms two groups that are similar or equivalent, through probability, to each other in every way possible appropriate to the concept of experiment. The treatment group receives the procedure for the experiment and the control group does not. Therefore, the only difference between the groups will be that one group receives the treatment for the experiment and one group does note. After the experiment is conducted the researcher analysis the results in both groups.