And as a result, it's mostly fake. That's the only conclusion that can be honestly reached
in light of the fact that the single most famous experiment in social science turns out to have been a fraud:
One of the most famous and influential psychology studies of all time was
based on lies and fakery, a new exposé reveals.
The Stanford prison experiment purported to show we are all naturally inclined to abuse positions of power - after volunteers randomly assigned to act as prison guards began abusing volunteer inmates in a mock prison.
But now a report from author and scientist Dr Ben Blum claims the research was all a sham. It points to recordings found in archives at Stanford University which show the study's author Professor Philip Zimbardo encouraged guards to treat inmates poorly.
Also, one volunteer prisoner has now admitted to faking a fit of madness that the study reported was driven by the prison's brutal conditions.
The revelations have sent scientists into uproar, with some calling for the experiment and its findings to be wiped from psychology textbooks worldwide.
The Stanford prison experiment purported to show we are all naturally inclined to abuse positions of power - after volunteers randomly assigned to act as prison guards began abusing volunteer inmates in a mock prison.
But now a report from author and scientist Dr Ben Blum claims the research was all a sham. It points to recordings found in archives at Stanford University which show the study's author Professor Philip Zimbardo encouraged guards to treat inmates poorly.
Also, one volunteer prisoner has now admitted to faking a fit of madness that the study reported was driven by the prison's brutal conditions.
The revelations have sent scientists into uproar, with some calling for the experiment and its findings to be wiped from psychology textbooks worldwide.
We certainly live in interesting times. I knew
that most "scientific" economics was a fraud, and I'd concluded that
all "scientific" evolution was a fraud, but it is clear that the rot
begins in physics and goes all the way down through the softest social
sciences.
The central problem is simple enough, as it is the result of the gap between the theory of scientody and the reality of scientistry. Scientistry doesn't incentivize or require replication, so no one even bothers trying to replicate the vast majority of studies and experiments.
The central problem is simple enough, as it is the result of the gap between the theory of scientody and the reality of scientistry. Scientistry doesn't incentivize or require replication, so no one even bothers trying to replicate the vast majority of studies and experiments.
