Power and Psychology: Analyzing the Stanford Prison Experiment
A 60-minute session (held 25 August 2024) on how roles, uniforms and authority change the way ordinary people behave: the watchman behind the gate, the friend who becomes the boss, the class monitor with the chalk, the label your family gave you, the instruction you followed without agreeing. And on the famous 1971 prison experiment itself, and the later doubts about how it was run. Do situations change people, or only reveal them? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
Think of the last time you were put in charge of something, even something tiny: did you get stricter, softer, or stay exactly the same?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
People With A Little Power
The society guard won't let your parcel in without three phone calls. The clerk says, “Come back Monday.” Outside work, they're perfectly friendly.
- 2
What A Uniform Does
You put on the school blazer, the white coat, the office ID on its lanyard. Suddenly you stand up straighter. People speak to you differently too.
- 3
When A Friend Becomes Boss
You and your friend joined together. You shared lunch and complained about the manager every day. Now your friend is the manager.
- 4
Following Orders You Disagree With
Your boss asks you to do something that feels a bit wrong. Not illegal, just unfair to someone. Everyone else is going along with it.
- 5
How We Treat Newcomers
When you joined, the seniors made you fetch the tea and stay late. You hated it.
- 6
Being Made Class Monitor
The teacher leaves the room and says, “Monitor, write down the names of anyone who talks.” A minute ago you were just another kid.
- 7
Your Role In The Family
In your house, one child is “the responsible one”. Another is “the naughty one”. Another is “the baby”. Nobody voted. The names just stuck.
- 8
Staying Quiet When Something's Wrong
In a meeting, the boss mocks a junior's mistake in front of everyone. A few people laugh nervously.
- 9
Your Work Personality
At home you're soft and chatty. At work you're brisk and serious. Your colleagues would barely recognise the person your family knows.
- 10
Behaving Worse Online
Your cousin is the gentlest person at every family dinner. Online, under a made-up name, he writes comments that would make his mother faint.
- 11
Trusting Famous Psychology Experiments
Including the famous prison experiment this session is named after.
- 12
Why Power Doesn't Change People
Everyone says power changes people. But your old classmate was bossy at ten, and he's bossy as a manager at forty. Nothing changed.
The line to leave with
This week, which role were you playing at the moment you were least kind, and would you have done it as just yourself?
More boards,more ways in.
Every discussion we have run has a board behind it. Browse them by topic.