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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Are the American police out of control?
« on: June 10, 2020, 05:43:59 PM »
Has anyone here heard of the "Stanford Prison Experiment"?
It was a study done in the 70s in which psychologists/sociologists were attempting to discover what effects "perceived power" would have on the actions of regular, good-will, people.
Basically, they took regular people and divided them into two groups: some acted as prisoners, others acted as guards. Then they assumed their role and 'acted' out a prison scenario.
It didn't take long before the "guards" became brutal and abused the prisoners.
The study was discontinued because violence quickly escalated, and laws were implemented to prevent this sort of study from happening again.
Although the study was never replicated, and did not complete, it was an eye-opener for many sociologists when trying to determine whether or not complaints of brutality were legitimate.
It was clear that giving someone a position of power was strongly correlated to an attitude of dominance. Those in positions of power were extremely likely to internalize that feeling of power, and act it out - it is important to note that "acting it out" was almost always associated with violence.
I think we see this over, and over, and over in the American executive system. Guards over-stepping their limits in prisons, police officers playing militant roles, abuse, corruption, etc.... we see this time and time again here in the states.
I am not in favor of disbanding, dismanteling, or de-funding/abolishing our police system, but I am in favor of rethinking our approach on justice, and police presents/actions. Even simply wearing a uniform creates a sense of power for some people - these are subtleties that need to be addressed.
This idea of us vs them mentally needs to be addressed.
It was a study done in the 70s in which psychologists/sociologists were attempting to discover what effects "perceived power" would have on the actions of regular, good-will, people.
Basically, they took regular people and divided them into two groups: some acted as prisoners, others acted as guards. Then they assumed their role and 'acted' out a prison scenario.
It didn't take long before the "guards" became brutal and abused the prisoners.
The study was discontinued because violence quickly escalated, and laws were implemented to prevent this sort of study from happening again.
Although the study was never replicated, and did not complete, it was an eye-opener for many sociologists when trying to determine whether or not complaints of brutality were legitimate.
It was clear that giving someone a position of power was strongly correlated to an attitude of dominance. Those in positions of power were extremely likely to internalize that feeling of power, and act it out - it is important to note that "acting it out" was almost always associated with violence.
I think we see this over, and over, and over in the American executive system. Guards over-stepping their limits in prisons, police officers playing militant roles, abuse, corruption, etc.... we see this time and time again here in the states.
I am not in favor of disbanding, dismanteling, or de-funding/abolishing our police system, but I am in favor of rethinking our approach on justice, and police presents/actions. Even simply wearing a uniform creates a sense of power for some people - these are subtleties that need to be addressed.
This idea of us vs them mentally needs to be addressed.
