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I keep seeing viral hot takes on the Stanford Prison Experiment & police brutality.
While it's tempting to conclude that people in a position of authority automatically become abusive, that's not what the study reveals.
I'll explain why this notion is wrong & problematic.
1/n https://twitter.com/fcrna/status/1273773732209672193
While it's tempting to conclude that people in a position of authority automatically become abusive, that's not what the study reveals.
I'll explain why this notion is wrong & problematic.
1/n https://twitter.com/fcrna/status/1273773732209672193
Problem #1: The people in the SPE and the police are not random selected.
The people who freely volunteered for a "study of prison life" scored higher on aggressiveness, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism, narcissism, & social dominance .
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167206292689
2/n
The people who freely volunteered for a "study of prison life" scored higher on aggressiveness, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism, narcissism, & social dominance .
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167206292689
2/n
Similarly, studies of police find they report significantly more social‐dominance orientation than either jurors or public defenders.
Euro‐American police officers have, by far, the highest levels of social dominance orientation.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1994.tb00586.x
Euro‐American police officers have, by far, the highest levels of social dominance orientation.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1994.tb00586.x
Problem #2: Cruelty usually emerge from a system of oppression.
Tapes from the SPE show that the experimenters in charge of the “prison” tried to persuade guards to adopt an aggressive style in their interactions with the helpless prisoners.
http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31380665/
4/n
Tapes from the SPE show that the experimenters in charge of the “prison” tried to persuade guards to adopt an aggressive style in their interactions with the helpless prisoners.
http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31380665/
4/n
This means that efforts to curb violence should examine the role of leaders in promoting a culture of cruelty and oppression.
Understanding power and hierarchy--and holding leaders accounting--is critical to changing behavior.
5/n
Understanding power and hierarchy--and holding leaders accounting--is critical to changing behavior.
5/n
Problem #3: Even within cruel systems, some people resist.
There was huge variance in the behavior of the guards during the SPE.
We found that some guards were actively resisting pressure to engage in brutality.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/rethinking-the-infamous-stanford-prison-experiment/
There was huge variance in the behavior of the guards during the SPE.
We found that some guards were actively resisting pressure to engage in brutality.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/rethinking-the-infamous-stanford-prison-experiment/
This means that people have individual agency and can be held accountable in these situations.
It also means they have the capacity--and responsibility--as bystanders to intervene in toxic or violent situations.
7/n
It also means they have the capacity--and responsibility--as bystanders to intervene in toxic or violent situations.
7/n
Problem #4: Cruelty is not the inevitable consequence of these roles.
@ReicherStephen& @alexanderhaslam re-ran a version of the Stanford Prison Experiment and found that participants even tried to establish an egalitarian social system!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16573869/
@ReicherStephen& @alexanderhaslam re-ran a version of the Stanford Prison Experiment and found that participants even tried to establish an egalitarian social system!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16573869/
This means that merely being assigned to a role doesn't consign you to cruelty.
It is powerlessness and the failure of groups that makes tyranny psychologically acceptable.
There are alternatives to oppressive systems and violent roles.
It is powerlessness and the failure of groups that makes tyranny psychologically acceptable.
There are alternatives to oppressive systems and violent roles.
We should all be mindful of perpetuating narratives that make oppression seem inevitable or natural.
These narratives are not only scientifically incorrect, but they ignore the potential for people to resist oppression and create alternative social arrangements.
10/n
These narratives are not only scientifically incorrect, but they ignore the potential for people to resist oppression and create alternative social arrangements.
10/n
