Stanford Prison Experiment, Paid Volunteers Term Paper

Participants in the study did receive a psychological testing battery but in the study it is reported that scores were not known until the close of the experiment. This may mean that the aggressive behavior seen in the experiment was not due to the effect of the situation on the person, but rather the interaction of the person in the situation. Members of the study staff (minus Dr. Zimbardo, who has made a closet enterprise of his study) have attempted either to distance themselves from the experiment. The chief consultant on the project, Carlo Prescott, recently wrote to the Stanford Daily describing the shame he felt over his participation in the project, describing it as a "theatrical exercise." Other elements of concern in the study include the method of experimentation on human subjects. As we have previously noted, informed consent was inadequate for the degree of abuse and harassment the participants experienced. While the study only had a minimal risk involved, its outcomes were a part of the move toward investigational review board approval for all human subject experiments.The Stanford study appears to have been only minimally compliant in requirement for the assessment of risk-benefit criteria, the development of guidelines for selection of subjects, and of course, the adherence to a clear informed consent.

Reference:

Haney, C., Banks, W.C., & Zimbardo, P.G. (1973). Study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Naval Research Reviews, 9, 1-17. Washington, DC: Office of Naval Research

Haney, C., Banks, W.C., & Zimbardo, P.G. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69-97.

Carnahan T, McFarland S. (2007) Revisting the Stanford prison experiment: could participant self-selection have led to the cruelty? Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 6; 911.

The lie of the Stanford Experiment" by Carlo Prescott. Stanford Daily, April 2005. Accessed on the internet at http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/4/28/theLieOfTheStanfordPrisonExperiment

No Author Listed. (1979) the Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the protection of human subjects of research. The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Accessed on the Internet on 28 Sep 2007 at http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html.....