After a Guilty Verdict
G543
Forensic Psychology (GMN)
Imprisonment: (1)planned
behaviours, (2)depression/suicide,
(3)prison situation/roles)
After a guilty verdict
• This section considers what happens to a
person once they have been found guilty
and been sentenced.
• Sentences can be custodial (prison) or
non-custodial (probation)
• Both have advantages and disadvantages
• You have 5 minutes to list as many as
possible of prison (worksheet)
After a guilty verdict
• Psychologists are interested in the effect on the
individual of the punishment or treatment.
• This is different to the perspectives sociologists
might take.
• They are interested in the effect it has on society
and not the individual.
• Discuss what psychological affect prison would
have given Sean Mercer and also people in
general.
In the exam
• (a) Identify the link between imprisonment
and suicide. [10]
• (b) Evaluate the usefulness of research
into the psychological effects of
imprisonment.
January 2010
(a) Identify the link between
imprisonment and suicide. [10]
• The link between imprisonment and suicide,
particularly in young offenders, is well
established and the better candidate will clearly
identify this link with reference to research such
as Dooley, 1990. Better answers will be marked
by elaboration, quality and/or example, as well
as explicit application of evidence. The weaker
candidate may make general or bland
statements which lack detail or specific
references.
(b) Evaluate the usefulness of research into the
psychological effects of imprisonment (15)
• The question asks the candidate to
evaluate usefulness. This can refer to how
well the research can be applied, how the
research is useful to the individual or the
use of the research on a societal level. It
may be useful in considering the prison
situation and roles, depression and suicide
risk of prisoners and planned behaviours
once freed from jail.
In the exam
• (a) Describe research into planned
behaviours once freed from jail. [10]
• (b) Evaluate the use of qualitative and
quantitative data when researching
imprisonment. [15]
January 2013
(a) Describe research into planned behaviours once freed
from jail. [10]
• The bullet-point title asks for ‘planned
behaviours once freed from jail’ and this is
fulfilled by schemes and regimes being put
in place to produce a positive effect on
recidivism rates. This can be affected by
employment experience for example. The
specification refers to Gillis and Nafekh
(2005) but other research such as
Farrington et al (2002) is equally
acceptable.
(b) Evaluate the use of qualitative and
quantitative data when researching
imprisonment. [15]
• Pros and cons, strengths and
weaknesses, advantages and limitations
of qualitative and quantitative data can all
be considered. When looking at planned
behaviours in preparation for after
imprisonment, depression and suicide
during imprisonment and the prison
situation are all available from the
specification. They provide sources of
evidence of the range from content
analysis to numbers and data.
In the exam
• (a) Describe research into the prison
situation and roles. [10]
• (b) Evaluate the methodology used in
research into imprisonment.
June 2013
(a) Describe research into the prison situation and roles.
[10]
• Candidates are likely to refer to research by Zimbardo
who initially considered participants acting out the roles
of prisoners and guards in a prison simulation. The
pathological reaction of the prisoners as much as the
guards was noteworthy. Candidates may refer to Reicher
and Haslam’s study although this focused more on group
dynamics than roles, so candidates should explicitly link
the ‘role’ aspect. Candidates may choose 2 or more
pieces of research to consider prison situation and roles.
Candidates who only consider prison situation cannot
get higher than band 3.
(b) Evaluate the methodology used in research into imprisonment.
• This question is an open evaluation so can refer to
strengths as well as limitations, but must be specifically
about methodology used in research rather than about
imprisonment itself. So research was conducted in a
particular place and time, such as Canada or the UK,
and in 60s or 70s, so not as cross-sectional as some
other research. Large samples of 23,525 Canadian
federal offenders, 442 unnatural deaths occurring in
prison in the UK or an overview of over 2,000,000 US
prisoners benefit particularly the reliability and
representativeness of the research. Any other
methodological issues may be presented, from the
methods themselves such as experimental design
through to methodological issues such as ecological
validity.
Planned behaviours /Study 1 Background
Judges blamed for prison boom
• The 71% rise in the prison population
between 1991 and 2001 was due to a
"misplaced emphasis on toughness rather
than effectiveness" as courts sentence
more people to prison and for longer
terms, according to a report by the Prison
Reform Trust.
Is prison an effective deterrent?
• Edward Garnier (April 06), the Shadow Minister for
Home Affairs, thinks that imprisoning criminals is
'hugely expensive and not working'.
• His view is shared by many, and the fact that 70 per
cent of prisoners are convicted of another crime
within two years of being released would seem to
support that statement.
• Jamie Whyte, writing in The Times, says this fact
tells us nothing about how much prison deters the
rest of the population.
• He thinks it is good value and that we should do
more of it.
• What do you think?
Is prison an effective deterrent?
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You have unlimited funding
How would you stop the re-offending of:
Drug dealers
Car thieves
? Any other, you choose
Imprisonment
• Imprisoning people is thought to be the
most effective punishment for a crime and
is frequently demanded by the public.
• But how does it work psychologically?
• Skinners work on operant conditioning
(learning through punishment or reward)
can be used to explain how prison works
as a deterrent and as a punishment.
• Explain how?
Imprisonment
• Prison works (if at all) because it deprives
a person of liberty and free will.
• These are replaced by restrictions (in
space, movement and choice over actions
and contacts).
• If this acts as a deterent to criminals then it
can be seen as a negative reinforcer and
should strengthen avoidance behaviour
(staying on the right side of the law).
Imprisonment
• According to Skinner, if punishment is to
be effective, it should weaken that
undesirable behaviour, or, ideally, stop it
altogether.
Imprisonment
• However, prisons do not work as the
theory's predicts.
• Either as a punisher or negative enforcer
• Explain why this may be, what's happened
to society?
• How would you change society this and
why?
• Recidivism is rife, is life better inside for
some youths than on the outside?
Imprisonment: An incentive to
behave?
• Many people are critical of the parole system
(the fact that prisoners are often released early
and rarely serve their full sentence);
• What are the arguments for and against this?
• However, this is an important incentive, crucial
to the smooth operation of the prison system.
• Applications for parole are allowed after a
minimum term (set by the judge) has been
served.
Imprisonment: An incentive to
behave?
• Success will depend on the nature of the
offence, the judge’s comments on
sentencing and crucially the inmate’s
behaviour in prison.
• This gives the prisoner an incentive to
behave and comply with prison rules.
• Without this incentive many inmates would
be unmanageable (Zimbardo/BBC Study)
Azjens Theory of planned
behaviour
• On worksheet
• This theory helps us to understand how
we can change the behaviour of people.
• Believes that human action is guided by 3
things (next slide)
•Based on:
1 – Attitude(about the likely consequence of their
behaviour – going straight – their behavioural
beliefs)
2 – Subjective norm (beliefs about the normative
expectations of others – most people are not
criminals)
3 – Behavioural Control(do they feel in control)
The theory of planned behaviour applied
to an offender’s likelihood of ‘going
straight’ – Azjen (1988)
• Azjen Theory of Planned Behaviour can be
applied to a prisoner leaving jail.
• A prisoner needs to have a positive intention to
stay out of prison.
• This will be influenced by the prisoners beliefs
about the value of their life (Attitude) on the
outside and how much confidence they have
that they can control what will happen to them
(Perceived behavioural control).
The theory of planned behaviour applied
to an offender’s likelihood of ‘going
straight’ – Azjen (1988)
• The amount of control a prisoner may feel
they have is dependent on many
variables.
• Can you list some (3 minutes)
• E.g, Aggression, education, addiction
• Now describe the theory of planned
behaviour by applying it to an actual
criminal (worksheet willhelp you).
Study 1
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration.
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration.
• This study was conducted in Canada
• Focussed on inmates who were about to
be released having completed their
sentence
• In their prison it was possible to start an
employment programme in the final
months of their sentence
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• The success rates of those with a planned
exit from prison are compared using a
matched pairs design with prisoners with
no planned employment
• Why is it important for a prisoner to get a
job?
• Money, friends, meaning
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• Aim: - To investigate the effect on
recidivism rates of a community-based
employment scheme (more importantly
employment status and outcomes)
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• Sample: - Federal offenders conditionally
released between January 1998 and
January 2005
• 23,525 individuals
• 95% Males and 5% Female
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• Procedure: - A content analysis (analysing
statistics from the government) of data from
Canada’s Offender Management System was
completed on 23,525 individuals released
between January 1998 and January 2005 (95%
were male).
• A matched pairs design was used
• The two groups that were compared on
outcomes were those employed (G1) prior to
release on a special programme for offenders
and those that were unemployed (G2).
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Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
Offenders were matched for:
gender
risk level
release year
sentence length
family/marital relations
substance abuse
emotional orientation
community functioning
Attitudes (Azjen).
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• Results: Those on the employment programme
were more likely to remain on conditional
release (i.e. not sent back to prison) and less
likely to return to custody with a new offence.
• The average time for the whole sample to get
employment outside was 6 months for men and
10 months for women (why?)
• At the end of the study period 70% of the
employed group (G1) remained out of prison,
compared to just 55% of the unemployed group
(G2).
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• Median return time (to jail) was also longer
for the employed group (37 months,
compared to 11 months).
• So even if they did end up in prison it still
took them longer to get in.
• But why did some of them end up in prison
even with the programme in place?
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• This study is an improvement to previous studies
and has a strong sample and method.
• Its findings can therefore be generalised and are
also more valid
• Employment-based programmes play an
integral role in the last few moths of prison
• They develop skills that allow them to integrate
into society
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• The programmes focus on job-search
technique, individual psychometric
assessments and on job placements
• The study suggests that planning the
return to the community addresses some
of the points raised in Azjens model and
increases the likelihood of success.
Gillis & Nafekh (2005) – The impact of
Community-based employment on offender
reintegration
• 64.7% are reconvicted within 2 years
• Males aged 18-20 it is 75.3%
• What happens if the release of a prisoner
is not planned?
Evaluaiton
• + Usefulness – the research is highly useful in preventing recidivism
of offenders (employment-based programmes play an integral role in
the last few months of prison allowing them to reintegrate better into
society and giving them control over their future/TOPB)
• – Ethnocentrism – as the participants were all from Canada it is
difficult to generalise the results to other populations.
• + Large Sample – as the sample is large, which will give an a more
reliable and generalisable data set.
• + No experimenter bias – as the study was a content analysis using
computer software, we can argue that there is a low chance of
experimenter bias.
• – There is a lack of depth in this research, we do not know why the
employed offenders are less likely to reoffend
Depression/Suicide Study 2 Background
Depression and suicide risk in
prisons
• In 2007 there were 92 unnatural deaths in prison
• A further 100 were resuscitated
• This is based on information from the ‘Howard
League for Penal Reform’
• The Howard League for Penal Reform is the
oldest penal reform charity in the UK.
The Howard League for Penal
Reform - Core Beliefs
• The Howard League for Penal Reform works for
a safe society where fewer people are victims of
crime
• The Howard League for Penal Reform believes
that offenders must make amends for what they
have done and change their lives
• The Howard League for Penal Reform believes
that community sentences make a person take
responsibility and live a law-abiding life in the
community
In the news
• Suicide and prison closely linked (BBC Health
Report)
• Two fifths of women prisoners and a fifth of male
prisoners in England and Wales have attempted
suicide, according to official statistics
• Most had attempted to take their lives before
they were admitted to prison, but the number of
suicides in jail is also rising (is this key?)
• Many came from a background of violence and
abuse
In the news
• Prison campaigners say the figures,
released by the Office for National
Statistics (ONS), show the strong link
between social deprivation, mental ill
health and imprisonment and the need for
a multi-agency approach to cutting crime
and better prison screening of mental
illness
• What is this suggesting?
Of those who had attempted suicide in the
past year there were eight main risk factors
• The most common were being white and
being young.
• Others included having a poor education
and very little support from family and
friends
• Suicide attempts were also strongly linked
to mental disorders such as schizophrenia,
heavy alcohol abuse and neurosis
Depression and suicide risk in
prisons
• At any one time 1500 prisoners are on
suicide watch
Self-harm in prison
• What signs could you look for? (as stated on the HM
Prison website):
• Your relative or friend might be unusually quiet,
withdrawn or just not interested in things
• They might stop taking care of themselves
• They might seem lonely and isolated
• They may be finding it very difficult to come to terms with
their situation
• They might feel despair and that things are out of their
control
• They may feel many different emotions—anger, despair,
hopelessness
Old study:
DOOLEY STUDY (FOR THOSE WHO
HAVE ALREADY DONE IT):
DOOLEY, UNNATURAL DEATHS IN
PRISON
• Dooley looked at unnatural deaths from 1972 –
1987.
• Prisoner A is one of the examples in the text
• Death by consciously self-inflicted injury (CSI)
• He had been convicted of manslaughter in 1977
and received a 6-year sentence
DOOLEY, UNNATURAL DEATHS IN
PRISON
• Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a
human being, in a manner considered by law as
less culpable (evil) than murder.
• He had apparently been depressed fir a number of
weeks prior to the offence
• Felt extremely guilty and when considered for
parole this feeling of guilt increased
DOOLEY, UNNATURAL DEATHS IN
PRISON
A month before his death he tried to hang himself
Seen weekly by a psychiatrist
Hanged himself from a coat hook in his cell
Was classed as misadventure (accidental death)
not suicide
• Dooley found the most common method of suicide
was hanging
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Dooley (1990) – Unnatural Deaths in
Prisons
• Aims: - To investigate all unnatural deaths that
occurred in prisons in England & Wales between
1972 and 1987
Dooley (1990) – Unnatural Deaths in
Prisons
• Procedure: - A content analysis of Prison
Department records. A checklist that included
social, psychiatric and forensic history was used to
analyse the data. The groups recorded as suicide
were compared to those not recorded as suicide.
Dooley (1990) – Unnatural Deaths in
Prisons
• Findings: - 442 unnatural deaths were
recorded
• 300 were recorded as suicide
• The remaining 142 were recorded with a
variety of verdicts (mainly misadventure)
• Including 52 from consciously self-inflicted
injury (CSI)
• More of the suicide group were on remand
(not yet sentenced)
• More of the CSI group were female.
• Most deaths occurred at night.
Dooley (1990) – Unnatural Deaths in
Prisons
• Using page 57 (discussion) and your booklets discuss
the conclusions of this study
• Why does overcrowding cause stress?
• Why are there more suicides among prisoners on
remand?
• How would you attempt to stop this in prison?
GRAVE
New Study:
Palmer and Connelly (2005) – Depression,
hopelessness and suicide ideation amongst
vulnerable prisoners
• The link between imprisonment & suicide
is a strong
• Outlined in the study by Dooley et al
• Found that those who were depressed
were more likely to commit suicide than
those who weren’t.
• This same link was found by Palmer &
Connelly in their study into suicide risk
(more detail than Dooley)
Palmer and Connelly (2005) – Depression,
hopelessness and suicide ideation amongst
vulnerable prisoners
• Palmer & Connelly approached adult male prisoners in a Cat. B
local prison in England who were new to custody and asked whether
they would be willing to participate in a study.
• 24 who identified themselves as having a history of self-harm.
• This as the experimental group which was matched on age, ethnicity
etc as a control group.
• Both groups were then were asked to complete several self reports,
all relating to depression.
• These were the Beck’s scale into hopelessness, the Beck’s scale
into Depression and the Beck’s scale for suicide intentions.
• The higher the participants scored the more at risk of
suicide/depression they were.
Palmer and Connelly (2005) – Depression,
hopelessness and suicide ideation amongst
vulnerable prisoners
• At the end of the study it was found that the
experimental group scored higher than the
control group.
• They were more at risk of suicide than the
control group which did not have a history of
self-harm.
• Overall it can be seen how young and
newcomers to the prison system who have a
history of self-harm are more predisposed to
commit suicide than others.
Evaluation points
Palmer and Connelly (2005) – Depression,
hopelessness and suicide ideation amongst
vulnerable prisoners
Key evaluative points
•Assessments conducted on arrival and some
individuals who self-harm/ have suicidal
tendencies may not cope with this particular level
of stress initially.
•May not be clear if this is state or trait
hopelessness/ depressed mood (situation v
disposition/individual debate)
•Reliability questioned and further research
required (you also have the issue of self report
method – demand characteristics and socially
desirable response.
Palmer and Connelly (2005) – Depression,
hopelessness and suicide ideation amongst
vulnerable prisoners
Key evaluative points
• High ecological validity as they used real
prisoners in a real prison (good comparison here
to Reicher and Haslam or Zimbardo)
• Generalisability low as they used a small sample
compared to the number of prisoners in jail.
• Can not generalise to females as all male
sample
- In 2012, 4,590 male suicides were registered,
compared with 1,391 female
The prison situation and roles /
study 3
• Zimbardo
• Reicher and Haslam
• Zimbardo and Haney
The prison situation and roles
• Haney and Zimbardo; The past and future
of prison policy in the USA
• This study considers what has happened
in US prisons 25 years on from the original
Stanford Prison Experiment
• The original goal was to demonstrate the
power of institutional environments on
people who pass through them (what
perspective was identified in this study?)
The prison situation and roles
• Different to Milgram’s study as he looked
at the effects on individuals complying with
an authority figure’s increasingly severe
demands (individual explanation)
• Haney et al was more interested in the
situation that people were in
The prison situation and roles
• In the original Stanford study (1973) pathological
behaviour was attribute to the prison situation
and not by the nature of the individual (agree
disagree?)
• This original study was set out to lead to
improvements in the system
• In 1998 Haney and Zimbardo presented a paper
in the American Psychologist in the changes that
had taken place in the US prison system over 25
years.
• They presented 6 points as lessons to be
learned.
The prison situation and roles
• There are two parts to the study,
summarising the changes (P1) and
suggesting changes (P2)
Part 1
• Ronald Reagan’s Republican ‘War on Drugs’ (1980s) led
to political pressure to put more criminals behind bars.
• The concept of rehabilitation was discredited – criminals
deserved punishment.
• Rigid sentencing, with no possibility of parole.
• Many new prisons built, USA imprisons more people
than any other modern nation (2008 prison population 2
million).
• Racial bias in prison population 48% African-Caribbean
men although they only represent 6% of the general
population.
• Many for drug offences.
• Hispanics also over represented.
• Introduction of the ‘Supermax’ prison cell.
A ‘Supermax’ prison cell
Part 1
• Haney and Zimbardo argue that the USA is
perpetuating (continuing) discrimination against
black people and encouraging a dispositional
(when its situational) explanation of criminal
behaviour.
• The ‘supermax’ cell is another example of a
dispositional explanation being used to
categorise some prisoners as ‘problem
prisoners’. Are they a problem (screening
problems)?
Study 1
• A Dispositional explanation sees the cause of
criminal behaviour as being entirely due to an
individual’s personality, rather than considering
the environment which would be a situational
explanation.
• Task: - What situations variables or factors
might explain the over representation of Blacks
in the American penal system?
Part 2 – suggested improvements
(6 in total)
• Prisons should be used sparingly as they are
psychologically damaging, alternatives should
be sought.
• Prisons should take account of individual
differences, in particular how a person is likely
to react to confinement.
• Rehabilitation programmes are needed to teach
prisoners the skills to cope once they are
released. For example, anger management
programmes, drug and alcohol detox etc
Part 2 – suggested improvements
(6 in total)
• Prisoner assessments should include an
assessment of situational factors, as well as
psychological factors.
• Behaviour should be seen in the context of
events or situation.
• Reform needs to come from people outside of
the prison system who are empowered to act on
it. (Those within the system are not impartial).
• Psychological knowledge should be used to
improve the conditions within prisons.
What do you think to these ideas?
Next lesson after H/T
• Evaluate and compare studies
• Exam application
• Over half term read and briefly evaluate
the studies you want to use
Evaluation lesson – 23/2/15
Study 1 - Imprisonment
Azjen’s theory of planned
behaviour
1 – Attitude(about the likely consequence of their
behaviour – going straight – their behavioural
beliefs)
2 – Subjective norm (beliefs about the normative
expectations of others – most people are not
criminals)
3 – Behavioural Control(do they feel in control)
Gillis and Nafekh - Evaluaiton
• + Usefulness – the research is highly useful in
preventing recidivism of offenders (employment-based
programmes play an integral role in the last few months
of prison allowing them to reintegrate better into society
and giving them control over their future/TOPB)
• – Ethnocentrism – as the participants were all from
Canada it is difficult to generalise the results to other
populations.
• + Large Sample – as the sample is large, which will give
an a more reliable and generalisable data set.
• + No experimenter bias – as the study was a content
analysis using computer software, we can argue that
there is a low chance of experimenter bias.
• – There is a lack of depth in this research, we do not
know why the employed offenders are less likely to
reoffend
Study 2 – Depression/ suicide
risk in prisons
Palmer and Connelly (2005) – Depression,
hopelessness and suicide ideation amongst
vulnerable prisoners
Key evaluative points
•Assessments conducted on arrival and some
individuals who self-harm/ have suicidal
tendencies may not cope with this particular level
of stress initially.
•May not be clear if this is state or trait
hopelessness/ depressed mood (situation v
disposition/individual debate)
•Reliability questioned and further research
required (you also have the issue of self report
method – demand characteristics and socially
desirable response.
Palmer and Connelly (2005) – Depression,
hopelessness and suicide ideation amongst
vulnerable prisoners
Key evaluative points
• High ecological validity as they used real
prisoners in a real prison (good comparison here
to Reicher and Haslam or Zimbardo)
• Generalisability low as they used a small sample
compared to the number of prisoners in jail.
• Can not generalise to females as all male
sample
- In 2012, 4,590 male suicides were registered,
compared with 1,391 female
Study 3 – The prison situation &
roles (option 1)
SPE - Zimbardo
• Aim – To investigate the effects of being
assigned to the role of either a prison
guard or prisoner.
• Procedure - An experiment with the IV
being the conditions the participants are
randomly allocated to. Either prisoner or
guard. The DV is the resulting behaviour
SPE - Zimbardo
• The study showed that the behaviour of the ‘normal’
students who had been randomly allocated to each
condition, was affected by the role they had been
assigned, to the extent that they seemed to believe
in their allocated positions.
• The study therefore rejects the dispositional
hypothesis.
• The experiment had to be stopped after just six days
instead of the planned 14 days, mainly because of
the pathological reactions of the participants.
• Five prisoners had to be released even earlier
because of extreme emotional depression.
SPE – Zimbardo Evaluaiton
Weaknesses –
•The main criticism was ethical grounds.
•Zimbardo defends the experiment in a number of ways:
•The only deception involved was to do with the arrest of the prisoners at the
beginning of the experiment. The prisoners were not told partly because final
approval from the police wasn’t given until minutes before the participants
decided to participate, and partly because the researchers wanted the arrests
to come as a surprise. However this was a breach of the ethics of Zimbardo’s
own contract that all of the participants had signed.
•Approval for the study was given from the Office of Naval Research, the
Psychology Department and the University Committee of Human
Experimentation. This Committee also did not anticipate the prisoners
extreme reactions that were to follow
•Zimbardo also strongly argues that the benefits gained about our
understanding of human behaviour and how we can improve society should
out balance the distress caused by the study (Agree or Disagree?).
SPE – Zimbardo Evaluation
Weaknesses –
•Criticised for its unrepresentative sample. Since the experiment was
conducted using 24 normal, healthy, male college students who were
predominantly middle class and white, we have to be careful generalising the
results to other people.
•Criticised for lacking ecological validity. For practical and ethical reasons
the simulated prison could not be totally realistic. Many particularly unpleasant
aspects of prison life were absent, such as involuntary homosexuality, racism,
beatings and threats to life. Also, the maximum anticipated sentence was just
two weeks. It is therefore possible that the study does not serve as a
meaningful comparison to real prison environments.
•Influence of demand characteristics
SPE – Zimbardo Evaluaiton
Strengths–
•The situation was very tightly controlled e.g. guards and prisoners were
randomly allocated and were selected using a stringent criterion.
•The study still had ecological validity in the way that Zimbardo went to great
extremes in making the study as true to life as possible, for example in the way
that he had the prisoners arrested from their homes (however unethical).
•A further strength was in the way that data was collected. A number of
qualitative approaches such as observation (sometimes overt and sometimes
covert) interviews and questionnaires were used.
What does the study tell us about
Individual and situational explanations of
behaviour?
• The individual explanation for the behaviour of the participants
would be that the guards behaved in the way that they did because
they were naturally cruel and sadistic people and that the prisoners
were naturally weak.
• However the fact that they were all initially screened and found to be
similar in terms of mental and physical health and stability argues
against this explanation, as does the fact that they were randomly
allocated to the roles of prisoner and guard.
• Hence a more convincing explanation is that they behaved in the
way that they did because of the situation they were in.
• This would support the initial hypothesis proposed by Zimbardo that
the social environment created in prisons is what has the negative
and destructive effect on its inhabitants.
How useful is this research and to what
extent can it be applied to everyday life?
• Following this research, Zimbardo proposed changes to prisons and
to guard training but his suggestions were not taken up and, in fact,
prisons in the USA have been radically reformed in the last 25 years
to make them less humane!
• However, testimony about the research influenced Congress to
change one law so that juveniles accused of federal crimes cannot
be housed before trail with adult prisoners because of the likelihood
of violence against them.
• The study also gives a valuable insight into the power of situations
and roles on behaviour.
Study 3 – The prison situation &
roles (option 2)
BBC Prison Study - Evaluaiton
Ethics –
•Research approved by two ethics committees.
•Potential Ps underwent a 3-phase clinical, medical and
background screening to ensure that they were neither
psychologically vulnerable or would put others at risk.
•Ps signed a consent form informing them that may
experience some physical/psychological discomfort,
surveillance and stress.
•A paramedic, two clinical psychologists and an
independent ethics committee monitored the study
throughout.
BBC Prison Study - Evaluaiton
Usefulness–
•The study shows that it is possible to design and conduct a social
psychological research investigation which is ethical and it is also possible to
conduct such a study outside of the laboratory.
•Behaviour of participants could have been determined by the fact that they
knew they were being observed by television cameras and could have acted up
– socially desirable response.
•However the researchers make a robust defence of their study by arguing that
the screening process was used to exclude anyone who was motivated by the
desire for publicity, that behaviour was backed up by physiological and
psychological tests and that play-acting was unlikely over such a long period.
So it could be useful?
•Furthermore the researchers suggested that play acting to the cameras could
not explain the changes in observed behaviour throughout the study and
importantly in response to the planned interventions. They also note that
surveillance is becoming a normal part of everyday life.
BBC Prison Study - Evaluaiton
Generalisability–
•The researchers were careful to select men who were diverse in age, class
and ethnicity. However, as only men were used, it is not clear if the findings
generalise to women.
Confounding Variables•The Ps knew that they were being recorded for TV which may have affected
their behaviour. It is also possible that the guards felt that they had no real
power to use.
Ecological Validity•Better ecological validity than if the study was conducted in a laboratory.
However, being in a constructed environment inside the film studio is not the
same as being in a real-life institution.
Comparing studies
• Generaliability
• Reliability
• Application and usefulness
• Validity
• Ethics
• Situation v individual/disposition
With a partner choose an issue/debate and
consider it in relation to each study
(similarities and differences)
(b) Evaluate the usefulness of research into the
psychological effects of imprisonment (15)
• The question asks the candidate to
evaluate usefulness. This can refer to how
well the research can be applied, how the
research is useful to the individual or the
use of the research on a societal level. It
may be useful in considering the prison
situation and roles, depression and suicide
risk of prisoners and planned behaviours
once freed from jail.