Philip Zimbardo By: Steph Cataline

Who is Philip Zimbardo? The “voice and face of contemporary American psychology”. Presently, an Emeritus professor at Stanford University, professor since Has a PBS-TV series “Discovering Psychology”. His new book has been a New York Times bestseller: THE LUCIFER EFFECT: UNDERSTANDING HOW GOOD PEOPLE TURN EVIL

Introduction The man determined to find out why atrocities happen like the Holocaust, The Genocide in Rwanda through his Stanford Prison Experiment. Involved his choosing randomly selected healthy, normal college students to pretend to be either prisoners or guards in what was planned to be a two-week study in human behavior under intense conditions.

The Stanford Experiment Tested both inmates and guards and their response to captivity in harsh conditions. –Observed the behavioral effects Conducted in 1971 “mock prison” in the basement of Stanford University psychology building.

Video Shows inmate-guard interaction in the prison and the aftermath affects on the prisoners. Video 2- Features Zimbardo and inmates and his explanation of the Stanford Experiment. Substitute: Youtube> Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Experiment

Goals/Procedure To test the hypothesis that “prison guards and convicts were self-selecting of a certain disposition that would naturally lead to poor conditions.” 21 males of good health were chosen to participate. –Most psychologically stable. –White middle class Zimbardo was superintendent, undergrad research assistant was the warden

(continued) Guards-wooden batons and khaki military uniform. –Sunglasses were worn to prevent eye contact Guards worked in shifts and were permitted to return home and to their daily routines in between. Prisoners- ill-fitting muslin smocks, no underwear and rubber thong sandals. –Would force them discomfort and lead to increased disorientation. No names were used, referred to by numbers. –Pantyhose worn on head to replicate shaven heads. –Chains around feet-constant reminder of imprisonment Guards were allowed to run the prison in any matter wishes as long as there was no physical violence

Outcome 1/3 of guards displayed expected or “genuine” aggressive behaviors. Many of the prisoners became emotionally traumatized eventually leading to being removed from experiment. Zimbardo shocked by the increase of abusive behavior of the inmates, concluded the entire experiment earlier than anticipated.

Behind the Scenes Forced exercise Prison became dirty and inhospitable Some prisoners were forced to sleep naked with no mattress. Forced nudity and sexual humiliation. Only privileged to go to the bathroom.

Conclusion Ended on August 20, days after it began. ( intended to last 14) “ said to support situational attributions of behavior rather than dispositional attribution.” –Basically saying the environment and conditions caused their results not each individual personality.

Ethical Issues clip 6 minutes Summary of Experiment 2 minutes

Hypothesis I personally believe that the Stanford Experiment is a violation of personal rights regardless of if the individuals agreed or not. It is unknown and ill-determined to predict what exactly would happen behind closed doors. Did not prove or explain the reasons behind major atrocities