The legacy of a famous psychological study conducted on college students

In 2024 The Stanford Report He announced that on October 14 he became world famous psychologist Philip Zimbardo has died. Zimbardo’s Standford Prison Experiment gained national attention after recruiting Stanford University graduates to spend two weeks in a mock prison divided into groups of inmates and guards. According to Standford’s report, guards behaved aggressively towards prisoners during the experiment, and prisoners showed symptoms such as acute anxiety and depressed mood. Although the experiment ended after two weeks, the results highlighted the influence of social roles on human behavior, especially that of students. As discussed in the 2024 report by: VeryWellMind.comprisoners and guards allowed to interact with each other in the way they wanted.

Shortly after his death, Los Angeles Times. emphasized as Dr. Zimbardo he was passionate about expanding the results of his research prison and criminal justice reform. Even before his death, in 2020, a report was published Forbes.com scratched how Dr. Zimbardo expanded his research to include heroism and overcoming the “bystander effect” and biases. 2021 Report by Psychology today emphasized as Dr. Zimbardo he further expanded his research to examine time perspective and shyness.

In 2019 American psychologist published the report highlighting the scientific shortcomings of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Despite these shortcomings, there are still possible implications for higher education. Although the systematic abuses revealed in the Standford prison experiment are unlikely to occur on a college campus, all schools have group dynamics that include social roles and perceived differences in power. In 2021, Boston University published a story about the college experience for poor students studying at rich universities. In 2016 University magazine we discussed the university’s experience racially diverse students attending a predominantly white university. A study from 2015 in International educational research analyzed the university’s experience foreign students attending American schools. In addition to group dynamics among students, colleges must consider power differentials in other group interactions on campus, such as interactions between faculty and staff and administrator interactions with parents.

In 2023 SimplyPsychology scratched two dynamics in the Stanford Prison Experiment. These dynamics are deindividuation and learned helplessness, both of which remain relevant to higher education institutions.

Deindividuation

In 2019 GoodTherapy deindividuation defined as a phenomenon occurring when a person’s identity with a group prevails over their own identity and consciousness. In the Standford Prison Experiment, some students adhered to group norms of being a guard and behaved in ways they would not have done acting as individuals. A recent example of this dynamic on a college campus can be found in the 2024 Report by: CBSsport, in which University of Texas students he threw beer bottles onto the pitch during a football match. It is likely that many of these students would not drop anything if they were the only person in their student group.

The SimplyPsychology The report also highlighted the importance of emphasizing personal responsibility to reduce deindividuation. Schools can emphasize personal responsibility in formal ways, such as through the Student Code of Conduct and performance evaluations by faculty and staff. However, more consistent ways may include promoting values-based living, accepting diversity, and encouraging empathy across campus.

Learned helplessness

In 2018, the American Psychological Association defined learned helplessness as a phenomenon that occurs when an individual experiences repeated and uncontrollable stressors that result in the individual not using any available option to control or change the situation. In the Standford prison experiment, prisoners felt they could not control the actions of guards, which prevented them from responding positively. 2024 Report by Inside the Higher Editiondiscussed how the dynamics of learned helplessness are evident on college campuses. Reducing these dynamics includes encouraging help-seeking, problem-solving, and conflict resolution, all of which can improve student retention.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo has had a lasting impact on the field of psychology, and regardless of differing opinions about his research, the Standford Prison Experiment continues to emphasize the importance of studying the effects of social roles and group dynamics on behavior. Colleges and universities will benefit from leveraging the lessons from Dr. Zimbardo’s work.