This seems like a good time to remind people that the Stanford Prison Experiment was based on fraudulent data. The "guards" were cruel to the prisoners because Zimbardo told them what he wanted to find with his research, and because they *wanted* to help him prove his point. - ThreadSky

jessicacalarco.bsky.social • 3 days ago

This seems like a good time to remind people that the Stanford Prison Experiment was based on fraudulent data. The "guards" were cruel to the prisoners because Zimbardo told them what he wanted to find with his research, and because they *wanted* to help him prove his point.

Reposted from Rachel Maddow

“We are not monsters,” the officer told her after she asked if she was safe. “We do what the government tells us.”

www.cnn.com/2025/04/14/u...

Comments

binahmuchness.bsky.social•2 days ago

I was just following orders is never a sufficient excuse. I'm already pondering what I will and will not do. I think all of us should be doing that right now. Measure how far we are willing to go and how much we are willing to sacrifice and be prepared to do it.

lilli99.bsky.social•3 days ago

Ahh, but what about Millgrim? People continued to, what they believed to be true, shock another participant for wrong answers; they would be told to continue even when hearing screams and pleas from the other participant. Eventually the other participant “died” and most people kept giving shocks.

maralinn.bsky.social•2 days ago

“58 per cent of people actually disobeyed.”

“Reicher pointed out that only the final one of these phrases is a direct order, and in fact none of Milgram's participants continued with the study after hearing this order.”

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/why-almost-everything-you-know-about-milgram-wrong

ericbrown13.bsky.social•3 days ago

Debunked:
https://www.psypost.org/unpublished-data-from-stanley-milgrams-experiments-casts-doubts-on-his-claims-about-obedience/

angrymetalguy.bsky.social•2 days ago

Except there have been decades of those studies being replicated in various ways. I don't have the reference to hand, but there's a fairly exhaustive review that I read that covers the various versions throughout the years and they all find similar things.

lilli99.bsky.social•3 days ago

“Following orders” is apparently the best scape goat for committing atrocities.

jessicacalarco.bsky.social•3 days ago

For more on the problems with the Stanford Prison Experiment, see:
https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/2019-letexier.pdf

stephensben.bsky.social•3 days ago

This is also a great overview

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-stanford-prison-experiment/id1380008439?i=1000503166756

majeff.bsky.social•3 days ago

I give that to my Intro students!

dcrockett17.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'd heard methodological problems, yadda, yadda. I hadn't heard about all THAT.

startarally.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thanks for sharing this.

janettereinke.bsky.social•2 days ago

I saw a documentary recently on this. They interviewed several people who were guards or prisoners and it was fascinating. Can't remember where I saw it - on one of the streaming platforms.

You could tell the whole experiment traumatized them on some level.

marianabat.bsky.social•2 days ago

I watched it too on Nat Geo!

atomicpopwi.bsky.social•3 days ago

Marching out the Nuremberg Defense is never a good look

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