so-called Stanford experiment but please stay tuned

Michael Eisenstadt austin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net
Sat May 22 09:50:29 2004


From: Jon Ford 

> Michael-- just look up the Zimbardo prison 
> experiment on the Internet (it was done 
> originally in 1971) and judge for yourself. 
> Zimbardo has had a distinguished career 
> and has published many books. He is an 
> expert on coercion and thought control. 
> Since your background is in the classics, 
> what makes you an authority on this 
> subject, anyway???

I made no such claim. I can read though.
Milgram's book, Obedience to Authority,
which I have in hand, heavily underlined
and highlighted, is a joke. He's the chap
I saw on the tube.

As for Zimbardo, he has apparently NEVER
published a book on his Stanford Experiment.
There is a video, dated 1992, the title being
Quiet Rage the Stanford prison study. I shall 
look for/at it next time at the library.

Other books by Zimbardo include

Canvassing for peace; a manual for volunteers. 
/ (Ann Arbor, Mich. / 1970 

The shy child : a parent's guide to preventing 
and overcoming shyness from infancy to 
adulthood. / New York / 1981 

Shyness : what it is, what to do about it. / Reading, Mass. / 1977 

and two other videos

I feel it safe to guess that Jon Ford never 
saw the video, that Wayne never saw the
video, that Frances never saw the video
(video, not book, there is NO Zimbardo 
book on the Standford student experiment),
they "know" what they know because it is
blowing in the wind. Jon, Wayne, Frances,
and others are not in the habit of nailing down
what might be the case by researching it,
that is examining the claim at its source.

As for the Stanford experiment, that may be
as phony as Milgram's experiment. About
the latter I KNOW his experiement was 
contrived to produce the desired results 
because I looked at the guy's book which
describes it (with photos). Just another 
cooked psychology experiment which are 
legion. 

I'll betcha Zimbardo's is equally bogus (I 
haven't seen the video yet), just as I correctly
guessed about Milgram's book before I 
went to the library and got it out.

I am not surprised that Jon would sneer 
at my lack of credentials as an authority
on psychology rather than actually checking
out Milgram's and Zimbardo's claims. That's
his endearing way.