PSYCHOLOGY AND CURRENT EVENTS

Psychology and Current Events: Social Psychology Incarcerated

Kaitlin Black
5863246
PSYC1020
Maggie Przednowek
April 3, 2015

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Article Summary
The article that I have chosen involves an investigation occurring in a womens
prison following allegations of a male guard smuggling drugs in exchange for sexual
favours from inmates. Not many details regarding the investigation are disclosed, but
the prison spokesperson insists that safety is their first priority. However, a
spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS), an
association that advocates for the rights of women in the justice system, argues that this
allegation may not be taken seriously enough. She goes on to explain that charges are
most often laid when it becomes an issue of stopping drug smuggling, not protecting the
prisoners from sexual abuse. She also warns of the power structure between guards
and prisoners (article reference needed here).
Motivation for Article Choice
I chose this article for many reasons. One reason was because I was
immediately able to see parts of the article that related to material learned in this
course. There was also intrinsic motivation for my article choice, as it sparked my
interest (Bond, 2013, p. 195). This interest was intensified when I began skimming
through my class notes and analyzing the situation and the article from a psychological
perspective. The main reason I chose this article is because it held personal
significance for me. I believe strongly in challenging oppression and fighting for social
justice. By pursuing a career in Social Services I hope to eventually use my credentials
and expertise to advocate for the rights of women. For the sake of this paper, I will
assume that the allegations in this investigation are true.

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Relation to Course Material

A social psychologist could find great interests in this article. Social psychology
studies how people are affected by the presence of others (Przednowek, 2015, p. 6).
In this case, they may first be interested in determining what prompted the behaviour of
the guard. They may question if there was a dispositional cause, meaning he behaved
that way because he is inherently a bad person, or a situational cause, meaning that his
actions were a result of the environment that he was in (Bond, 2013, p. 224).
According to Bond (2013), Western cultures such as ours tend to exaggerate the
importance of personality characteristics, and minimize the influence of the
environment (p. 224), and I agree. I personally believe that people are inherently good,
therefore I believe that other factors would have contributed to the events that took
place.
It has been proven time and time again that environments affect the way in which
people behave. This was very obviously demonstrated in the Zimbardo Stanford Prison
Study, in which a mock prison was created in order to study the psychological impact of
taking on the role of a prisoner or prison guard, in a prison-like environment (M.
Przednowek, personal communication [class discussion], March 2015). The men in
this study who took on the role of the prison guard were clear examples of conformity: a
change in behaviour or attitudes brought about by a desire to follow the beliefs of other
people (Bond, 2013, p. 226). In the study, as soon as one man began treating the
inmates badly, the rest followed suit. It could be possible then, that the guard in this
study has witnessed other guards or authority figures treat inmates as subordinates,
and conformed to their behaviours.

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Social roles refer to the behaviours associated with people in a given situation
(Bond, 2014, p. 227). Many people believe prison guards to be strong, dominant,
controlling, powerful, and sometimes downright mean and unjust. This image is
perpetuated by the media, in shows like Orange is the New Black. The men in the
study also conformed to social roles. They became the picture of a prison guard that
we have painted in our heads. Is it possible that the guard in this article was also
conforming to his social role, behaving in ways he believed were typical or acceptable of
a prison guard?
A social psychologist would not only be interested in the behaviour of the guard
in this article, but also of the female inmate. They may choose to analyze the process
by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behaviour of others, known as
social influence (Bond, 2013, p. 225). These influences can be broken down into the
ABCs of Social Psychology: affect, behaviour, and cognition (Przednowek, 2015, p. 6).
In this case, the inmate may have felt vulnerable, weak, intimidated, threatened, or
powerless in the face of the guard. According to Bond (2013), emotions have both
physiological and cognitive elements and influence behaviour (p. 208). The vulnerable,
powerless feelings that the inmate experience may have influenced her to behave in
ways she usually would not, most likely out of fear. As described in the article, the
inmates who experience sexual assault may see it as a consensual act, as they may not
realize that the power and authority of the guards could have such an influence on their
actions.
Further, these women have been socialized to obey authority. Obedience refers
to altering ones behaviours because of the commands of others (Bond, 2013, p. 229).

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From the time we are children we are taught that we are to obey authority at all cost.
This is reinforced at home, in school settings, and in the community. Unfortunately we
are not taught the difference between just and unjust authority figures, and sadly some
authority figures do not have good intentions (Przednowek, 2015, p. 15). The inmate
in this article may have felt that she had no choice but to do as the guard said, because
of his status, power, and authority.
Question One
Assuming that these allegations are true, do you believe that this had anything to
do with social forces and the power of the situation?
Question Two
What are some of the behaviours that you expect of prisoners or guards? If this
went to court and you were called to jury duty, do you believe that some of these role
expectations may influence your verdict?
My Opinion
The way that this allegation is being handled, and the way in which people may
perceive it can also be viewed from a psychological perspective. Many people would
hear of these allegations, or read this article and because of the horn effect, they would
not believe the allegations to be true. The horn effect takes place when a persons
negative traits are used to infer other uniformly negative traits (Bond, 2013, p. 224).
Many people would assume that because these women have done something to land
themselves in jail they must have many negative traits, and therefore must be drug
addicts and cheats, and liars, so their allegations couldnt possibly be true.

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References
Bond, B. (2013). PsychSmart. Canadian Ed., United States: McGraw-Hill Ryerson
Limited
Przednowek, M. (2015). Unit 6: Social Psychology [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved
Wednesday April 1, 2015, from eConestoga.
Noel, B., & Seglins, D. (2012, November 19). Prison Guard Accused of Trading Drugs
for Sex. CBC News Canada. Retrieved March 24, 2015, from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prison-guard-accused-of-trading-drugs-for-sex1.1211354

Grading Rubric
Organization/Spelling/Grammar
Are separate ideas divided into paragraphs? Is the work
free from spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes?

5 /5

Content/Critical Thinking
Is the rationale for article choice clear and thoughtful?

3/3

Is the summary of the article thorough and

comprehensive?

5/5

Did the author make a meaningful and logical

connection between the content of the article and a
psychological issue/topic/subject covered in the course?
Are all psychological terms defined? Did the author
demonstrate thoughtfulness and careful consideration of

15 /15

PSYCHOLOGY AND CURRENT EVENTS

course material?
Are the questions generated relevant and meant to
generate thoughtful discussion?

2/2

Did the author clearly explain their opinion on one of the

questions?

3/5

Referencing
Did the author use formal APA referencing correctly for
both the textbook and article in-text and in the works
cited? Please note that if APA in-text references are
omitted all together, the assignment will automatically
receive a zero (0).
Total

5/5

38/40

Comments:
Kaitlin,
Your analysis of the article from the social psychology perspective was relevant and
insightful, and your discussion questions were intriguing.I would have liked to see
more of your own personal opinion in your answer. Great use of APA references!