Discuss and explain the ethical issues that arose during the Stanford prison experiment. What implications did this experiment have on future issues and discussions of correctional work?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In this 1971 experiment, volunteer students, with no training as officers and only their own expectations and beliefs to guide them, were divided into officers and inmates in a makeshift “prison.” The “officers” were outfitted in uniforms, including reflective sunglasses, and given nightsticks. The “inmates” were given sack-like attire. Neither “officers” nor “inmates” were told of any rules or policies to guide or restrict their behavior. Predictably, a few of these “officers” or “guards” engaged in verbal and psychological abuse of the “inmates.” In the end, about a third of the “officers” engaged in the abuse, and others stood by while it was going on. The experiment was stopped after a few days and is often referenced as an example of how correctional work, and the subcultures that develop as part of the job, can foster corrupt behavior by officers. The problem with the experiment, however, was that the “officers” were never given any education or training in corrections work. They were directed to exercise their discretion in controlling the inmates, but it was a discretion that was not necessarily anchored to any history or knowledge of “best practices” in corrections. Rather, the “choices” made by the officers in the absence of any education and training were likely shaped by the movies and popular press depictions of corrections that tended to reinforce the stereotypes of the institutions/programs and work. Not knowing how best to get people to do what they otherwise wouldn’t the “guards” used what knowledge of corrections they had, even if it was all wrong.