The DOI matches its Crossref record; 13 of the 13 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Rethinking the psychology of tyranny: The BBC prison study
Abstract
This paper presents findings from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) prison study – an experimental case study that examined the consequences of randomly dividing men into groups of prisoners and guards within a specially constructed institution over a period of 8 days. Unlike the prisoners, the guards failed to identify with their role. This made the guards reluctant to impose their authority and they were eventually overcome by the prisoners. Participants then established an egalitarian social system. When this proved unsustainable, moves to impose a tyrannical regime met with weakening resistance. Empirical and theoretical analysis addresses the conditions under which people identify with the groups to which they are assigned and the social, organizational, and clinical consequences of either doing so or failing to do so. On the basis of these findings, a new framework for understanding tyranny is outlined. This suggests that it is powerlessness and the failure of groups that makes tyranny psychologically acceptable.
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Citations
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Self-citationDeindividuation and antinormative behavior: a meta-analysis
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Self-citationStressing the group: Social identity and the unfolding dynamics of responses to stress.
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Self-citationEmotional prejudice, essentialism, and nationalism The 2002 Tajfel lecture
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Cited by
Collective narcissism and its social consequences.
de Zavala, A. G., Cichocka, A., Eidelson, R., & Jayawickreme, N. (2009) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0016904 · Cited by 704
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Self-citationCruwys, T., Dingle, G. A., Haslam, C., Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., & Morton, T. A. (2013) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.013 · Cited by 525
Self-citationStressing the group: Social identity and the unfolding dynamics of responses to stress.
Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. (2006) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.5.1037 · Cited by 502
Self-citationDepression and Social Identity: An Integrative Review
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Reicher, S., & Haslam, S. A.
- Venue
- British Journal of Social Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2006-03
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-40
- ISSN
- 0144-6665 (ISSN-L)
- 2044-8309
- OpenAlex
- W2120523428
- Cited by
- 401
- References
- 13
- FWCI
- 55.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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