Summary Of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment

Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The researchers set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology building, and then selected 20 undergraduate students to play the rolls of the guards and prisoners. The simulated prison included three prison cells that were six by nine foot each. Each cell held three prisoners and included three cots. Other rooms that were across from the cells were made for the prison guards and warden. There was also a small room that was the prison yard. The participants were randomly chosen to be either a prisoner or a guard. The prisoners had to stay in the mock-prison 24-hours a day until the experiment was over. Guards worked in three man teams for eight-hour shifts.

To keep record of the experiment, the researchers used hidden cameras and microphones to observe the behavior of the prisoners and guards. This experiment was originally planned to last 14 days, but it was stopped after just six days because of what was happening to the participants. Over this short period of time, the guards started to become abusive and the prisoners started to show signs of extreme anxiety. The prisoners and guards were allowed to interact any way that they wanted, instead of being sociable and helpful the interactions were vicious and brutal. The guards behaved aggressively and abusively towards the prisoners, while the prisoners became unresisting and depressed. This experiment demonstrated that being placed in a position of power, the people started to act in a way that they would normally not act. The prisoners, because they were in a situation that they had no control over became