CCJS 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Anomie, Stanford Prison Experiment, Solitary Confinement

• School: University of Maryland
• Department: Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Course: CCJS 105
• Professor: Kiminori Nakamura

Document Summary

Created a mock prison in basement including cells and solitary confinement. Interested in the power of social situations to environmental influences. Selected participants through students, randomly assigned to role of guard or prison. Can"t use physical violence, but have total power over prisoners. Prisoners woken in the middle of the night, had to complete tasks such as cleaning a toilet with their hands. Had no idea what time it was because there was no night or day. Asked to be a snitch after asking to leave. Interpreted it as not being allowed to leave which really transformed the experiment into a real prison, later started showing signs of extreme discomfort (believed if he acted crazy he would be released) Another prisoner blockaded his cell and didn"t participate in count. In such a short amount time, thinking changed, prisoner did not want to leave because he didn"t want to be seen as bad prisoner.