1. Stanford Prison Experiment
Phillip Zimbardo
1971
Stanford University
Experiment was stopped after 6 days

2. Theory
He sought to see the effect that prison life would have on normal college aged men
He studied how prison would effect both inmates and guards
What happens when you put good people in a bad place?

3. Method Created a simulated prison environment
Had 24 participants arrested and placed into this prison environment
Some were made to be prisoners
Some were guards
Prison was the basement of the Psych building
The entire experiment was video taped

4. The Experiment

6. Results Some prisoners rebelled or fought with the guards
Four prisoners reacted by breaking down emotionally as a way to escape the situation
Others tried to cope by being good prisoners, doing everything the guards wanted them to do

7. Results
By the end of the study, the prisoners were emotionally “broken”, both as a group and as individuals
The guards had won total control of the prison, and they commanded the blind obedience of each prisoner
Prisoners felt dehumanized and a loss of identity

8. Results
Deindividuation- Loss of self awareness and sense of personal responsibility
This was seen in the behavior of the guards

9. The End
After the 5th day, parents of the subjects came and threatened to call a lawyer
Colleagues of Zimbardo said the experiment should be stopped because of ethical issues
Participants were happy it stopped

10. Criticisms Unethical Went too far Caused psychological distress
Coerced people to stay in who wanted to leave (Zimbardo claims this is untrue, however some subjects later claimed they were not allowed to leave)