3. What did we learn from the Stanford Prison Experiment? Include issues of ethics and methodology? Can the findings be generalised beyond this experiment?
The Stanford Prison Experiment was conceived by Phillip Zimbardo with the aim of the Experiment being to observe and analyse the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or a prison guard. The experiment was funded by the United States Office of Naval Research who wanted to study anti-social behaviour 24 individuals were chosen for the experiment, all of them college age males (The story: An overview of the experiment, 1999).
The individuals were assigned the role of prisoner or guard at random. With the aid of a consultant, the basement of Stanford University was converted into a realistic prison environment, with multiple cells, a solitary confinement chamber and a two way intercom, allowing guards to listen in on what the prisoners were saying.
The prisoners were arrested without consent and subject to standard police procedure, being fingerprinted and then blindfolded and brought to the simulation prison. The Prison operated with 11 prison guards and 10 prisoners. Misbehaviour by the prisoners was punishable by solitary confinement. Prisoners were subject to depersonalisation methods such as being referred to by numbers and given only identical smocks. Prisoners were also put into their rooms in groups of three. Zimbardo took up the role of the prison superintendent to observe the experiment while keeping the