Stanford Prison Experiment”.

A critique of how well the experiment complied with the scientific principles that are discussed on pages 36-42 of our text

The theory of scientific management consists of three distinct principles (Miner , 2002

Instead of the "rule-of-thumb " of traditional research methods , tasks should be grounded in the scientific study of each part of the research process and its component parts (e .g , Method : Participants , Materials Design and Procedure

Use systematic and standard methods to recruit , allocate , deliver intervention and measure variables

Control for confounding variables to provide as much as

possible an objective approach to the research process

In this way , a primary investigator can research a scientific problem

The Stanford Prison Experiment did not use systematic recruitment methods to obtain participants . The only criteria to be eligible in the study appeared to be that the participant was male and attending university and not have an existing psychopathology . There was no random selection from an identified population , so it is difficult to generalize conclusions to a wider population . It is not clear who the sample non-randomly obtained are meant to represent . No systematic recording of data was taken , either through use of surveys , interviews or focus groups . It does not appear that tangible data was gathered , and so no statistical design was used to guide the sampling and procedure to ensure that confounding variables were controlled for . There was however random allocation to groups as a coin flip was used to determine who would be a prisoner and who a guard although there was not pre-testing of demographics to determine how similar each group was prior to the intervention

A critique of how well the experiment complied with the ethical standards

The practice of research requires scientific and technical knowledge , and also the ability to make value based judgments . These judgments need to be critically analyzed and evaluated in the same way that scientific information is assessed (Rogelberg , 2002 . The term ethics is a generic word used to represent a variety of methods for investigating and understanding moral life . As such , research ethics requires that an investigator go beyond the individual , and draw on presumed universal laws . The principles are intended to guide the value judgments of the investigator , not to substitute judgment (Bradley Hendricks , 2002 . As such , each principle is followed until it conflicts with one or more of the other principles , although no principle is ranked higher than any other principle . However , in recent times justice has become a significant issue . Justice involves not only the fair distribution of benefits from the research , but also legal justice and doing what is required of the law . This includes human rights that are grounded in the ethics of justice . Ethical decision-making models tend to be based on five over-riding moral principles . The Stanford Prison Experiment is an example of how the neglect of ethical principles can have dramatic and tragic consequences

The five moral principles in a standard ethical code of practice include (Steinman , Franks Richardson McEnroe , 1998

1 ) Autonomy...