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The F-Scale.
3
On this measure of rigid adherence to conventional values and a
submissive, uncritical attitude toward authority, there was no statistically signifi-
cant difference between the mean score of the guards (4.8) and that of the pris-
oners (4.4)—before they were divided into the two roles. However, a fascinating
finding emerges when we compare the F-Scale scores of the five prisoners who re-
mained for the duration of the study and the five who were released early. Those
who endured the authoritarian environment of the SPE scored more than twice
(mean = 7.8) as high on conventionality and authoritarianism than their early-
released peers (mean = 3.2). Amazingly, when these scores are arranged in rank
order from lowest to highest prisoner F-Scale values, a highly significant correla-
tion is found with the number of days of staying in the experiment (correlation
coefficient = .90). A prisoner was likely to remain longer and adjust more effec-
tively to the authoritarian prison environment to the extent that he was high in
rigidity, adherence to conventional values, and acceptance of authority—the fea-
tures which characterized our prison setting. To the contrary, the prisoners who
handled the pressures least well were the young men who were lowest on these
F-Scale traits—which some would say are to their credit.
The Machiavellian Scale.
4
This measure, as its name implies, assesses one's en-
dorsement of strategies for gaining effective advantage in interpersonal encoun-
ters. However, no significant differences were found between the guards' mean
score {7.7) and the slightly higher mean of the prisoners (8.8), nor did this mea-
sure predict duration of the stay in prison. We expected that the skill of those high
on this trait of manipulating others might be relevant in their daily interactions
in this setting, but while two of the prisoners with the highest Machiavellian
score were those we judged to have adjusted best to the prison, two others we
evaluated as also adjusting well had the lowest Machiavellian scores.
The SPE's Meaning and Messages 199
The Comrey Personality Scales.
5
This self-report inventory consists of eight sub-
scales that we used to predict dispositional variations between the guards and
prisoners. These personality measures are: Trustworthiness, Orderliness, Confor-
mity, Activity, Stability, Extroversion, Masculinity, and Empathy. On this measure,
the average scores of the guards and those of the prisoners were virtually inter-
changeable; none even approached statistical significance. Furthermore, on
every subscale, the group mean fell within the fortieth to sixtieth percentile range
of the normative male population reported by Comrey. This finding bolsters the
assertion that the personalities of the students in the two different groups could
be defined as "normal" or "average." Craig Haney and Curt Banks did indeed do
their preselection task of choosing a sample of student volunteers who were "or-
dinary men" well. In addition, there were no prior dispositional tendencies that
could distinguish those individuals who role-played the guards from those who
enacted the prisoner role.
A few interesting, though nonsignificant, differences were found between
the prisoners who were released early and those who endured the full catastro-
phe. The "endurers" scored higher on Conformity ("acceptance of society as it
is"), Extroversion, and Empathy (helpfulness, sympathy, generosity) than those
who had to be released due to their extreme stress reactions.
If we examine the scores for those individual guards and prisoners that most
deviated from the average of their group (by 1.5 standard deviations or more),
some curious patterns appear.
First, let's look at some personality characteristics of particular prisoners.
My impression of prisoner Jerry-5486 as "most together" was clearly supported
by his being higher than any other prisoner on Stability, with nearly all his other
scores very close to the population norm. When he does deviate from the others,
it is always in a positive direction. He was also highest in Masculinity ("does not
cry easily, not interested in love stories"). Stewart-819, who trashed his cell and
caused grief to his cellmates who had to clean up his mess, scored lowest in Order-
liness (the extent to which a person is meticulous and concerned with neatness
and orderliness). Despite rules to the contrary, he did not care. Guess who scored
highest on the measure of Activity (liking physical activity, hard work, and exer-
cise)? Yes, indeed, it was Sarge-2093. Trustworthiness is the belief in the basic
honesty and good intentions of others, and Clay-416 took the prize on that di-
mension. Finally, from the prisoner profiles, who do you suspect got the highest
score on "Conformity" (a belief in law enforcement, acceptance of society as it is,
and resentment of nonconformity in others)? Who reacted most strongly against
Clay-416's resistance to the guards' demands? It was none other than our hand-
some youngster, Hubbie-7258!
Among the guards, there were only a few individual profile scores that were
interesting as being "atypical" compared to their peers'. First, we see that the
"good guard" John Landry, not his brother Geoff, was highest on Empathy. Guard
200
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