PS124 Unit 6 Assignment

PS124

Unit 6 Assignment

Identify the historical research study (video) you selected from the list above.

Summarize the results of this study and what implications it has with regards to human behavior and mental processes that you have learned about in Units 5-6.

1. I watched the Stanford Prison experiment. Retrieved from: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ya1j

Discuss what is meant by social psychology and how it could apply to your research study referencing its theory and concepts.

1. During the experiment, each volunteer was either a “prisoner” or a “officer”. In the end, the affect that this experiment had on everyone, was quite interesting. The “officers” took their part and literally ran with it. What I mean is, they weren’t doing their job correctly. They thought that because they were an “officer” they had higher authority and could do as they pleased. The prisoners pretty much lost their minds. Some people couldn’t take the treatment.

Theories are meant to help you explain and predict people’s behavior. Considering the personality theories, you read about in Units 5 and 6, name one theory that helps explain what you see illustrated in the research and explain your reasons for choosing it (for example: psychodynamic, humanistic, social cognitive, behaviorism, or trait theory).

1. Social psychology is when social interactions and their affect on individuals is studied. In this experiment you could see how their social environment took a huge toll on everyone. It made the officers think they had some kind of huge authority over the prisoners other than what they were meant to do. The prisoners couldn’t take the mistreatment and they began to pretty much lose their mind. Social psychology is the study of social interactions. This experiment was to see what it was like inside a real jail, but also to see what it did to the human mind. It also showed how people changed when given an authority position, and vice versa.

Consider whether or not you think this historical research could explain the development of psychological disorders? Explain your reasoning using reference to the study and the disorder(s).

1. I would say humanistic psychology is what actually helped me to see what this experiment was really doing. Humanisitc psychology studies the person as a whole. Even though this experient was a social interaction experiment through prison, you could see what it was actually doing to each and every volunteer. They either became very demanding, throwing people in solitare and leaving them there, or the prisoners just couldn’t handle the mistreatment and they backed out of the experiment.