Rethinking the psychology of tyranny: the BBC Prison Study
Reicher and Haslam report the BBC Prison Study, an experimental case study in which men were randomly divided into prisoners and guards in a specially built institution over eight days. Unlike the prisoners, the guards failed to identify with their role, which made them reluctant to impose authority, and the prisoners eventually overcame them. Participants then set up an egalitarian system. When that proved unsustainable, moves to impose a tyrannical regime met weakening resistance. The paper outlines a framework in which powerlessness and the failure of groups make tyranny psychologically acceptable.
Reicher and Haslam report the BBC Prison Study, an experimental case study in which men were randomly divided into prisoners and guards in a specially built institution over eight days. Unlike the prisoners, the guards failed to identify with their role, which made them reluctant to impose authority, and the prisoners eventually overcame them. Participants then set up an egalitarian system. When that proved unsustainable, moves to impose a tyrannical regime met weakening resistance. The paper outlines a framework in which powerlessness and the failure of groups make tyranny psychologically acceptable.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-25 via OpenAlex.
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Reicher, S., & Haslam, S. A. (2006). Rethinking the psychology of tyranny: The BBC Prison Study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 1-40. doi:10.1348/014466605X48998