Stanford+Prison+Experiment

Stanford Prison Experiment Overview of Experiment: Who: Philip Zombardo chose 24 random college-age men, who signed up to participate When: August 15-21, 1971 Where: Stanford University, Stanford, California What: Conducted a Prison-simulation experiment Why: Answer the over-arching questions: "What happened when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?" (Zombardo, 2013)

Volunteers -A sample of 24 college students from the U.S. and Canada who were in the Stanford area -Were given diagnostic and personality tests to eliminate candidates with psychological problems, medical disabilities, or a history of crime or drug use -Divided up into two groups based on the flip of a coin  -Half of the group was designated as the guards  -Other half of the group was designated as prisoners  -No differences between those assigned as prisoners and those assigned as guards

 

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Creating the Environment of a Prison

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Consulted former prisoners and correctional personnel for researchers to be aware of what it was like to be a prisoner and a prison guard <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Held in the basement of Stanford's Psychology department building

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Prisoners <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Each prisoner was systematically searched and stripped naked <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Sprayed down, to convey researchers' belief that they may have germs or lice <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Degradation procedure was designed to humiliate prisoners <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Prisoners were issued uniforms, consisting of a smock, rubber sandals, and a stocking cap <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Trying to create a functional simulation of a prison, not an prison <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Guards <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Guards were free do do whatever they thought was necessary to maintain law and order in prison <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Warned about the potential seriousness of their mission and the possible dangers in the situation they were about to end <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-All guards were dressed in uniform as well

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Conclusion <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-The experiment was ended early, after only 6 days <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Guards were escalating the abuse of the prisoners <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-A Stanford Ph.D questioned the morality of the experiment after observing it <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-After just 6 days, understandable how prisons dehumanize people <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">-Realized how ordinary people could readily transform from good to evil in a situation where they are given power

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">media type="custom" key="24019100"

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">For more information, and a detailed description of the events that took place during the experiment, visit the website, created by Philip Zombardo himself: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">http://www.prisonexp.org/

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Zombardo, P. (1999). Stanford prison experiment. Retrieved from http://www.prisonexp.org/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Zombardo, P. (Writer), & Stanford Instructional Television Network, (Producer) (1988). Quiet rage [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKnU3ARSgWI

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Mrowka, Kate, 2013