1. The Stanford Prison Experiment
A Prison Simulation

2. The Stanford Prison Experiment
The Purpose of the Experiment
Who is Philip Zimbardo?
The Participants
The Prison
The Arrests
The Degradation Process
The Guards
The Rebellion
Outside Opinions
A Plot For Escape
The Parole Board
Closing the Prison
Discussion

3. The Purpose of the Experiment
The Zimbardo Experiment took place in 1971 at Stanford University
Philip Zimbardo, the leader of the experiment, sought to answer the questions of criminal psychology and human nature by placing people in the roles of guards and prisoners and seeing how they reacted in the simulation
What happens when you put good people in an evil place?
Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?

4. Who is Philip Zimbardo?
An American Psychologist and professor at Stanford University
The 2002 President of the American Psychological Association
Best known for his research in this experiment, as well as testifying in many international courts regarding the treatment of prisoners
Also wrote the book The Lucifer Effect

5. The Participants
Twenty four young men in college were commissioned to participate
All volunteered for the job as the men were paid
Selected from a pool of applicants, as a paid position, the men were chosen based on medical and mental health tests, whereby the most “well rounded” individuals were chosen
This group was then divided in half, based on random selection (a coin toss), and one group was respectively given the role of guards, the others prisoners

6. What do you feel is the significance of the coin flip to determine the roles?
Everyone has an equal chance at the subjection of criminal behaviour
Circumstances can arise upon anyone which can enable behaviour and change ways of thinking
When placed in a situation, especially when expectations are placed upon an individual, a person can be susceptible to committing a crime

7. Criminal Expertise
Karl Prescott was a previous inmate who spent many years in prison
He was brought on the team to help create a realistic setting for the jail
His suggestions in design were the basis of the institution
He was important for the psychological analysis of the prisoners as he could relate to “the criminals” and elaborate on their experiences for officials

8. The Prison
The prison took shape in the basement of the psychology building at the university
Cells were created by taking off the doors replacing them with steel bars
The prison “yard” was the hallway between the cells and there was little room to walk
The prison was very dark with no windows, and a tiny room devoted to solitary confinement
The bathroom was located in a separate area, so men who had to use the facilities were blindfolded and carried out by guards.

9. How do you feel the aesthetics of the prison affected the prisoners
How do you feel the aesthetics of the prison affected the prisoners? The guards?
Consider that the prison is:
Dark
Secluded
Claustrophobic and Small
There is no means of telling time

10. The Arrests
Participants were “arrested” in their communities on a Sunday afternoon
Police cars had the sirens blasting and hauled the participants onto the streets
They were read their Miranda Rights in front of their neighbours who did not know this was an experiment

11. How would you feel if your neighbours thought you were being arrested
How would you feel if your neighbours thought you were being arrested? How would you feel if you saw your neighbours being arrested?
Consider returning as the “criminal” or how you would feel about the “criminal” returning

12. Shock and Humiliation
Upon arrival, the “criminals” were lead from the police cars into the building wearing a blindfold
The prisoners were placed in a holding cell, still blindfolded, while the police fingerprinted the individuals

13. The Degradation Process
The prisoners were stripped, searched, placed in a uniform, then chained with an identification tag on their foot
Many inmates were forced to shave their heads or wear a stocking cover (making them all look very similar)
The uniforms were dresses which had the inmate’s number stitched to them
The uniforms were meant to emasculate the men, and the numbers served as their only form of identification

14. How do you feel the loss of identity can affect an individual?
Consider and relate this to other historic events wherein people have been stripped of their identity
Look at this scenario and compare it to the Holocaust

15. The Guards
The guards were given the instructions of doing what was necessary to maintain law and order within the prison, and command the respect of all inmates
This left room for interpretation and the guards were given a respectable amount of freedom to do the job they felt was justified
All the guards wore mirror sunglasses so the prisoners could not look the guard in the eyes, instead only see an image of themselves

16. What effect do you think the guards wearing sunglasses had on the prisoners?
How important do you feel looking someone in the eyes is to understanding and relating to them?

17. Enforcing the Law and Asserting Authority
The guards began the experiment by waking the prisoners in the middle of the night to fulfill a “count”
This procedure wherein the prisoners would identify themselves by their numbers occurred at no specific time other than when the guards felt so inclined
The guards would also assert that the prisoners had to do push ups for no particular reason

18. Rebellion
The prisoners deemed that the manner in which they were being treated was incredibly unfair
The prisoners rebelled as they removed their stocking caps, and ripped the numbers off their uniforms by already the second day
The prisoners taunted the guards, until the guards regained control over the prison
The prisoners, who had pushed their beds to block the doors, were blasted away by the guards who used a fire extinguisher
The guards broke into each cell, stripped the prisoners naked, took the beds out, forced the ringleaders of the prisoner rebellion into solitary confinement, and generally began to harass and intimidate the prisoners.

19. Special Privileges
To turn the inmates against one another, one of the guards suggested they “use psychological tactics instead of physical ones.”
The guards designated a “privilege cell” wherein the best behaved prisoners were given back their uniforms, allowed to rest in their bed, were taken to wash their faces, and were also given special food
The concept of the “privileged” inmate began to unravel the solidarity amongst the prisoners

20. How do you think you would have acted if you were an inmate in this situation? Would you have turn down these privileges in order to maintain prisoner solidarity?
Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each
Whose respect would you rather earn?
Do you think that your decision would be different in “the heat of the moment”?

21. The First Release

22. Visiting Hour

23. A Plot For Escape

24. “Prisoner #819 is a Bad Prisoner”

25. The Parole Board

26. Closing the Prison

27. Encountering Session

28. Types of Guards
There were three prevalent types of guards: 1) Tough but fair 2) The nice ones 3) The sadistic power trippers
If you were a guard, which type of guard do you think you would be?
How can you be sure that you wouldn’t be corrupt?

29. How do you feel this experiment demonstrated the importance of human sensory reception?
Consider our emotions, and our sense of time

30. How would you feel about being blindfolded and escorted to a washroom?
Do you think it would be better because you would know that it was an experiment, or worse because it invades your privacy and independence?

31. Control Theory
Developed by Walter Reckless in the 1970s, the Control Theory outlines that crime is the result of desire for human needs (including survival, love, freedom, power, etc.) and the strive or competition there for it
Relating to Charles Darwin’s ideas of survival of the fittest, this theory takes a psychological perspective on crime in looking towards the interpretation of human needs and the choice (conscious or sub-conscious) to meet them

32. -Attachment Theory (Bowlby) as the separation from the world leads to distress
-Control Theory as guards demean prisoners
-Strain Theory as they are put in a situation of high stress with no output (sensory)
-Symbolic Interactionism and Labelling Theory as the situational force is like the expectations
-Differential Association Theory as a person’s views of themselves (as created by a situation) allows for the disposition of crime
-Rational Choice Theory as the choice and nature of crime lie in the environment or the moment (situation)

33. “The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces.” Using this quote, relate Zimbardo’s ideas back to the earlier studied causes of crime.

34. What do you think can be learned from this experiment in regards to human nature?
Are people evil by nature?
Are people bad when placed in a situation of survival?

35. What do you think can be learned from this experiment in regards to corrections and the prison system?
Prison guards and powers require proper checks and balances
The need for rehabilitation in establishing a criminal’s responsibilities and self understanding
Consider more community initiatives and government assistance plans to prevent crime

36. If you were going to conduct a similar study, what would you do differently?
Consider:
The aesthetics
The ethics
The participants
The roles

37. Do you think the experiment would be different if there were women involved (either as a complete female institution or an integrated facility)?
Would it be better or worse?