Neuroscience
On the back of research first published in 70s and 80s, an increasing number of jails in the Western world are painting their cells pink, in the belief that doing so has a calming effect on prisoners.
Unfortunately, this early research was poorly designed. For example, one study found that prisoners' strength, pushing against an experimenter, was reduced when they were presented with a pink vs. blue coloured card. But the experimenter could also see the card and may simply have exerted more effort in the pink condition.
Another early study reported that prisoners were calmer in pink cells versus white cells. But the prisoners in the pink cells were monitored one year, and the white cell prisoners during another year. Also, prisoners were not randomly allocated to the different colours. Both these shortcomings make it difficult to rule out other influences, besides the paint colour on the cell walls.
Now a team of psychologists led by Oliver Genschow at Ghent University has provided the first carefully controlled systematic test of the pink cell claim. They trained guards to measure the aggressive behaviour of 59 male prisoners in Switzerland, who were placed into special detention as punishment for violating prison regulations. Half these prisoners were chosen at random to be placed into cells painted entirely pink, across the floor, walls and ceiling. The other half were placed into cells of identical size, but painted white, with a grey floor. Aggression ratings were taken on arrival in the cells and after three days.
The prisoners showed reduced aggression at the end of three days, compared with at their arrival, but crucially, at no time was there a difference in aggression levels (in terms of emotions or behaviour) between prisoners in the differently coloured cells. The same null result was found when analysis was restricted to just those prisoners who started off low in aggression, or just those who started off with higher aggression.
Genschow and his team said their results question the wisdom of painting prisoners' cells pink. In fact, they speculate that doing so could even be counter-productive: "Being placed in a pink detention cell may ... attack inmates' perceived manhood and/or cause feelings of humiliation."
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Genschow, O., Noll, T., Wänke, M., & Gersbach, R. (2014). Does Baker-Miller pink reduce aggression in prison detention cells? A critical empirical examination Psychology, Crime & Law, 1-15 DOI: 10.1080/1068316X.2014.989172
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
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Neuroscience
Are prisoners calmer when their cells are painted pink?
Unfortunately, this early research was poorly designed. For example, one study found that prisoners' strength, pushing against an experimenter, was reduced when they were presented with a pink vs. blue coloured card. But the experimenter could also see the card and may simply have exerted more effort in the pink condition.
Another early study reported that prisoners were calmer in pink cells versus white cells. But the prisoners in the pink cells were monitored one year, and the white cell prisoners during another year. Also, prisoners were not randomly allocated to the different colours. Both these shortcomings make it difficult to rule out other influences, besides the paint colour on the cell walls.
Now a team of psychologists led by Oliver Genschow at Ghent University has provided the first carefully controlled systematic test of the pink cell claim. They trained guards to measure the aggressive behaviour of 59 male prisoners in Switzerland, who were placed into special detention as punishment for violating prison regulations. Half these prisoners were chosen at random to be placed into cells painted entirely pink, across the floor, walls and ceiling. The other half were placed into cells of identical size, but painted white, with a grey floor. Aggression ratings were taken on arrival in the cells and after three days.
The prisoners showed reduced aggression at the end of three days, compared with at their arrival, but crucially, at no time was there a difference in aggression levels (in terms of emotions or behaviour) between prisoners in the differently coloured cells. The same null result was found when analysis was restricted to just those prisoners who started off low in aggression, or just those who started off with higher aggression.
Genschow and his team said their results question the wisdom of painting prisoners' cells pink. In fact, they speculate that doing so could even be counter-productive: "Being placed in a pink detention cell may ... attack inmates' perceived manhood and/or cause feelings of humiliation."
_________________________________
Genschow, O., Noll, T., Wänke, M., & Gersbach, R. (2014). Does Baker-Miller pink reduce aggression in prison detention cells? A critical empirical examination Psychology, Crime & Law, 1-15 DOI: 10.1080/1068316X.2014.989172
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- At What Age Do Girls Prefer Pink?
Crudely speaking, the psychological field of gender development is split between those who see gender differences as learned via socially constructed ideas about gender, and those who believe many gender differences are actually “sex differences”,...
- New Bbc Prison Study Website Goes Live
The British social psychologists, professors Alex Haslam and Steve Reicher, have put together a wonderful, resource-packed website that documents the science and issues behind their BBC Prison Study conducted and broadcast in 2001/2002. Rather like Zimbardo's...
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After news broke that US soldiers had mistreated their prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq, a common reaction among pro-war politicians was to remind the public that: "It would have been worse under Saddam". Whatever the truth of this claim, new...
- Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Pure Nerve Stem Cells
From the BBC:Scientists make nerve stem cells The world's first pure nerve stem cells made from human embryonic stem cells has been created by scientists at the University of Edinburgh. Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 07:15 GMT 08:15 UK It...
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A Reuters report, published in a number of different sources, including Wired News:Stem Cells Get Brainy By Reuters 04:04 PM Jun. 13, 2005 PT WASHINGTON -- Scientists working in mice said they had found a way to identify master cells in the brain...