The Psychology Of Abuse

Is there the psychology of abuse? Is there a clear motivation? Usually yes. Perhaps it should not be as painful a statement as that made in his day by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, who said that “for every moment of triumph … For all instances of beauty, many souls must be trampled on,” but not there is no doubt that there is something that induces abusive behavior.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo tried to identify those environmental factors that could favor the psychology of abuse through the notorious Stanford prison experiment, which took place in 1971. However, the consequences were so brutal that he had to be suspended at the time. after a week.

The Stanford jail experiment

The Stanford jail experiment was a psychological study on abuse of power funded by the United States Navy. His intention was to seek an explanation for the conflicts that raged in the American prison system.

The methodology used by Zimbardo consisted of the creation of a fictitious jail in which a group of volunteers would receive two different roles, guards and prisoners. This sample was made up of white, middle class and psychological men who testified to its stability. All of them university students.

The selection of roles was made randomly, with 12 of the 24 recruited from the group of guards forming part and the rest as prisoners. In addition, Dr. Zimbardo himself joined as superintendent and an assistant investigator with the role of warden.

To add realism to the experiment, the guards worked in shifts and received batons and uniforms. Meanwhile, the prisoners wore robes and sandals along with a chain around their ankles. They also had to be in jail all day.

Stanford jail experiment results

It didn’t take long for the experiment to spiral out of control and in just one week it had to be suspended. Neither the guards nor the prisoners were told how they had to carry out their role, however, many of the guards were quick to engage in cruel behavior and many of the prisoners began to accept this humiliating treatment with resignation.

Thus, during the second day a riot broke out in which many prisoners were attacked with fire extinguishers to be disbanded. Afterwards, the guards divided the inmates into groups according to “good” and “bad,” which prevented further rebellions.

However, many of the prisoners suffered traumatic consequences due to the torment received by the lairs and forced physical labor. Hygiene and hospitality became a privilege, and guards even forced some prisoners to sleep naked on concrete floors.

As the experiment evolved, the guards showed more sadism, especially at night, thinking that the cameras were off. What’s more, when they canceled the drill, many of them got angry.

Conclusions of the experiment

One of the conclusions that can be drawn from the Stanford prison experiment is that apparently normal people, who are given a position of power, can carry out certain behaviors that would undoubtedly condemn before. The Stanford jail experiment makes it clear how a given environment and a given role facilitate abusive behavior.

Understanding this is important, since the environment often has a higher power over our actions than our personality or our disposition can have. This is the only way to understand how entire peoples have come to support massacres against part of their population.

Another important element in the Stanford prison experiment is dehumanization. The students who assumed the role of prisoners stopped having a name and became a number. They stopped being private persons to become one of the prisoners. This simple gesture reduced the empathy of the guards to the suffering of the prisoners.

The psychology of abuse

Does the Stanford jail experiment show that abuse psychology focuses solely on the situation, beyond psychological predisposition or previous experiences? It is logical to think that no, but it is clear that it is a key aspect.

A person who acts abusively towards another or with a group takes advantage of their situation of power over others. A father, someone physically strong, a boss or leader and even a person who feels legitimized by society, the law or by his own vision of reality will be easier to find a reason that for him justifies violence.

There is no doubt that the psychology of abuse is a serious problem that concerns humanity as a species. A mind capable of legitimizing this type of behavior by act of law, custom or thought is a serious misinterpretation. Yet none of us seem to be free from it, as the Stanford jail experiment well demonstrated.

To learn more about this experiment, we recommend reading a magnificent and entertaining book, written by Zimbardo himself: “The Lucifer Effect”. In it, apart from the topic discussed, other questions such as the ethics of experimentation are opened. Reason enough that this experiment was currently inconceivable.