Person-centered analysis of human behavior ascribe most behavior change - whether in positive or negative directions - to "internal, dispositional features of individuals."

Factors that are generally believed to guide or control behavior are [to be found in the operation of]: genes, temperament, personality traits, personal pathologies and virtues.

In contrast to person-centered analysis, situation-centered analysis attribute behavior change to factors "outside" of the person - tin the "behavioral context" wherein individuals function.

Human behavior is often a work of person-situation interaction.

However, some social psychologists drew attention to the "attributional biases" in psychology and our (people in general) overestimation of the importance of "dispositional factors," while neglecting to see the real significance of situational of factors.

Social psychologists call this the "fundamental attribution error," which, according to them, "leads to misrepresentation of both causal determinants and means for modifying undesirable behavior patterns."

Stanford Simulated Prison Experiment

Philip Zimbardo, PhD of Standford University, and colleagues Craig Haney, Curtis Banks, David Jaffe, along with ex convict consultant Carlo Prescott conducted a study to find out the extent of the impact of situational factors, or in this study, the the institutional forces on the behavior of normal, healthy participants. Their study became known as the Stanford Prison Experiment. (Zimbardo, P. G., Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Jaffe, D.,1973)

The study was so designed that dispositional factors among prison personnel and inmates were set apart from situational factors that is consistent with many prisons.

Objectives

The researchers' objectives were:

• "To determine what prison-like settings bring out in people that are not confounded by what people bring into prisons."
• "To discover to what extent the violence and anti-social behaviors often found in prisons can be traced to the "bad apples" that go into prisons or to the "bad barrels" (the prisons themselves) that can corrupt behavior of even ordinary, good people."

Participants

• The participants were college students from across the US, who answered a newspaper ad for participants in study of prison life.
• The students were personally interviewed, given a series of tests, and were asked to complete background surveys that enabled the researchers to pre-select those who were mentally sound, physically healthy, normal and well-adjusted.
• The participants were randomly assigned to play either the role of guards or inmates.

Setting

The "prison" was constructed in the basement of Stanford University's Psychology Department and was designed as "functional simulation of the central features present in the psychology of imprisonment."

Results

Zimbardo and Co. found that:

• Several normal, healthy "pretend" prisoners suffered "such intense emotional stress reactions" that they had to be freed within days.
• Most of the other "prisoners" totally obeyed the degrading orders of the "guards."
• The prisoners' distress was caused by their sense of powerlessness - which was induced by the guards who started acting cruelly, even sadistically.

The Stanford Simulated Prison Experiment was planned to last 2 weeks, but it was terminated by the 6^th day because it was getting out of hand "in the extent of degrading acts being committed by the guards against the prisoners."

To think that only 6 days before, these people were young, normal, healthy, ordinary college kids.

Significance of the study

This groundbreaking study which showed that behavioral changes and pathological reactions can be caused by situational forces.

The research findings had been published in many textbooks, used in lectures, used in media presentations, and many other agencies within the civilian and military criminal justice system.

Via: Psychology Matters