What are the flaws of the Sandford prison experiment?

[Isaiah90]

I've heard this experiment is biased. Do you agree? If so, how and why?

[Bufofrog]

46 minutes ago, Isaiah90 said:

I've heard this experiment is biased.

How so?

[Isaiah90]

11 minutes ago, Bufofrog said:

How so?

https://youtu.be/CElJEVMrnto

 

 

 

 

 

[Bufofrog]

I didn't want to watch a video, I wondered what you thought there being bias

[swansont]

!

Moderator Note

The rules require the information to be posted here

If you don’t care enough to explain, don’t expect anyone to care enough to answer

 

[Isaiah90]

13 hours ago, Bufofrog said:

I didn't want to watch a video, I wondered what you thought there being bias

Apparently, Zimbardo had a hidden agenda to prove prisons in America were too cruel and dysfunctional to be effective. He put out ads which looked for college students who wanted to volunteer for a study on prison life. This implies he was biased from the start.   

[exchemist]

1 hour ago, Isaiah90 said:

Apparently, Zimbardo had a hidden agenda to prove prisons in America were too cruel and dysfunctional to be effective. He put out ads which looked for college students who wanted to volunteer for a study on prison life. This implies he was biased from the start.   

But that is not evidence that the experiment was biased. He may simply have hoped, or expected, that a fair experiment would make his point for him. Plenty of scientists carry out experiments in the hope or expectation that their hypothesis will be confirmed by it. It's one of the most normal motives for doing science.  

 What, in your opinion, is the evidence that the experiment itself was biased?  

Edited June 9, 2021 by exchemist

[Isaiah90]

59 minutes ago, exchemist said:

But that is not evidence that the experiment was biased. He may simply have hoped, or expected, that a fair experiment would make his point for him. Plenty of scientists carry out experiments in the hope or expectation that their hypothesis will be confirmed by it. It's one of the most normal motives for doing science.  

 What, in your opinion, is the evidence that the experiment itself was biased?  

As a side note, I don't believe the study is biased. I'm just trying to address criticisms others have made about it. Critics say Zimbardo coached volunteers how to be cruel and didn't show most of the experiment's footage.  

[exchemist]

1 minute ago, Isaiah90 said:

As a side note, I don't believe the study is biased. I'm just trying to address criticisms others have made about it. Critics say Zimbardo coached volunteers how to be cruel and didn't show most of the experiment's footage.  

That's interesting. What's the evidence for these allegations?