Interpersonal Dynamics in A Simulated Prison

The researcher had based his analysis on the federal prison system in conjunction with the rehabilitation efforts employed in America and Europe. Obtained from direct observations of behavioral interactions in the penal system, the reform model employed had faults that impacted the lives of the incarcerated population. The main role of the prison that involves criminal rehabilitation is not evidenced in the case nor does the penal system deter future crime. The problem induced different reactions towards the prison system increasing crime following the deplorable condition of the existing penal system. Also, the dehumanizing impacts on prisoners and guards are also related to the problem. The problem attracts an explanation of the penal system with an aim to understand the main cause of the dehumanization, despicable conditions, brutality and the degradation that exists in the prison. Also, the research problem defines various contributing factors that characterize the relationship between different characters including prisoners and guards among other members of the penal system presented. In the simulation, the researcher employed concepts of recidivism, crime, rehabilitation and dehumanizing effects from the penal system. The research had booth dependent and independent variables. The independent variable included the level of inhumanity in the prison system and the level of pain inflicted on different characters in the prison system. Dependent variables included the prison guards involved in the deplorable conditions and the individual prisoners inflicted the pain through the system. These aspects could specify the subjective reactions that would be substantial in providing direction for different interactions. The guards and the prisoners acting upon the social forces were not dependent on the videotaping employed in the study and they seemed aware of the surveillance as well. Researchers in the study presents an explanation, which is termed as a dispositional hypothesis. Through the explanation, the researchers analyze the dehumanizing effects of the deplorable conditions in the prison on the prisoners and guards in the penal system (Haney et. al, 1972). The explanation juxtaposes the features of the prisoners and the guards defining the source of the degradation existing in the prisons. The definition of a prison acknowledges it as a social institution. However, reflecting on the system, the social forces established contribute towards the existence of the deplorable conditions, brutality, and violence, degrading and dehumanizing results, which can easily be traced in the correctional population. The researcher selected a homogeneous sample after extensive diagnostic testing and interviewing. A group of male college students was considered to participate in the experimental design and resolve the causality problem. For the procedure to be effective, the researchers divided the college male students into separate groups. The two groups consisted of either a prisoner or a guard. The male-dominated sample would reflect a men’s prison hence present better results on the same. Furthermore, the subjects selected were from sampled from the civilian population hence supported a better design for testing the dispositional hypothesis. The experiment had no predictions, meaning the researcher did not know how to react to the results of the experiment. The observation study would effectively work for the research as an approach to define different aspects necessary for analyzing the behaviors of the participants and the outcomes in general. They would demonstrate the reality of the prison environment and the impact6 of the social forces on the behaviors of both the guards and the prisoners. Data collection methods relevant for dependent data included the use of audio recording, videotaping, individual rating scales, rating scales, and personal observations. The methods employed were effective for personality assessment for both the guards and prisoners. The assessment was 

Fostered by the use of the Comrey scale, an instrument for rating scales. Rigid adherence was gauged through the use of F-Scale and could convey uncritical attitude, level of submissiveness and conventional values towards the established authority. Machiavellianism barometer was necessary for measuring the impacts of interpersonal manipulation and could not predict termination and toleration of prisoner involvement in the exercise (Haney et. al, 1972). The results obtained from the research experiment induced different preconceptions of the prison system and life in the criminal justice field. According to the federal justice system, prisons exist as rehabilitation centers, reforming and punishing criminals, which coincides with Deterrence Theory. In the process of rehabilitation, harshness is expected as well as in the punishment process. Nevertheless, these processes would require the conservation of human rights that require conducting humane punishment. However, the penal system identified in the research deprives human rights and induces a different punishment theory that is against the humane punishment supported by the justice system. Prior to the American policy that takes an affirmative action regarding the laws governing the federal prison system, it is recommended that they uphold human rights in the process as an approach for better rehabilitation and criminal reforms. The American prisons have been experiencing a racially based imbalance in the prison system that attracts different punishment approaches for the two races, that is, white and black Americans (Winker, 1983). Most of the concerns are based on racial differences and political factors that impact the criminal justice system. In return, the American prisons have been deteriorating in the conservation of human rights that need to be considered and the right approaches employed to preserve human rights and induce justice in the penal system. The research presents the need for prison reforms such that the prison population will get through the rehabilitation process under the conservation of human rights and reforms that are free from dehumanizing factors. 

References 

Haney, C., Banks, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1972).  Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison  (No. ONR-TR-Z-09). STANFORD UNIV CA DEPT OF PSYCHOLOGY. 

Winker Jr, K. E. (1983). Criminal justice/criminology journal rankings: ASC versus ACJS.  Journal of Criminal Justice ,  11 (4), 369-375.