Management Psychology

August 29, 2004 12:56 AM

Management Psychology filter: What other experiments have been performed that are similar to the Stanford Prison Experiment? I distinctly remember watching a video about a similar 1950s experiment in which the "prisoners" were hired actors, and the "interrogators" were the test subject [ f(m,i) = yes ]

In the '50s experiment, a group of "ordinary americans" (I don't think they were specifically college kids, more like working-class people) were divide into two groups - prisoners and interrogators. The interrogators asked questions (math, or logic questions that had well defined answers) and administered an electric shock when the prisoner got the answer wrong. Prisoners and interrogators are separated by a cubicle-like partition. The interrogators were told that the experiment tested the effect of an electric shock on the prisoners' math ability. After each wrong answer, the interrogator was to give the prisoner a shock, and increase the power slightly for the next shock.

At first, most of the prisoners get the answers right. The small shocks had little audible effect on the prisoners. As the power of the shocks increased, the prisoners started to cry out. Each interrogator reached the point where they were clearly concerned about the pain they were inflicting. But after the "manager" confirmed that they were doing good work, their fear went away. Most seemed to enjoy punishing the wrong answers.

At the end, it is revealed that the "electric shock" simply illuminated a light bulb at the prisoner's station. The prisoner had been instructed to give wrong answers from time to time and scream progressively louder each time the light went on.

I have a hard time believing that this experiment and the Stanford experiment were the only studies carried out on abusive management.

posted by b1tr0t to society & culture (7 comments total)

That experiment is Milgram's 37.
posted by dobbs at 1:20 AM on August 29, 2004

Milgram is also responsible for what we know as the "Six Degrees" theory. You'd also be interested in diffusion of responsibility and the bystander effect which both use the Kitty Genovese case as an example.

Here's a page on Latane & Darley's Bystander "Apathy" experiments.

(and now i see all these are on the various wikipedia pageswhich makes this post pretty pointless.)
posted by raaka at 2:32 AM on August 29, 2004

BTW, you could never do the Stanford Prison experiment with the ethics codes in effect today.
posted by pmurray63 at 8:56 AM on August 29, 2004

In 2002, The BBC aired a reality TV series/documentary based on the Stanford Prison Experiment. It was called, naturally, The Experiment, and it ended early (well, maybe) because "[s]cientists overseeing the BBC project became concerned that the 15 participants' emotional and physical wellbeing was in danger of being compromised." Here's more on the show from The Guardian, and the archive.org copy of the show's now-deleted web site.
posted by realityblurred at 4:23 PM on August 29, 2004

The Stanford Prison Experiment was junk science. Its results were never reported in a scientific journal. Zimbardo never shared crucial details, such as how many experimental subjects had noticeable behavior changes and how many did not.

Erich Fromm convincingly demolished the conclusions of both the Stanford experiment and the Milgram experiment in Anatomy of Human Destructiveness.
posted by profwhat at 4:55 PM on August 29, 2004

The Stanford Prison Experiment was junk science. Its results were never reported in a scientific journal.

The International Journal of Criminology and Penology would like to have a word with you.
posted by Jairus at 7:27 PM on August 29, 2004

BTW, you could never do the Stanford Prison experiment with the ethics codes in effect today.

Well, the U.S. Military just re-enacted it...
posted by Zed_Lopez at 3:06 PM on August 30, 2004