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The Stanford prison experiment (SPE) was a psychological experiment performed during August 1971. It was a two-week simulation of a prison environment that examined the effects of situational variables on participants' reactions and behaviors.
- Procedure
- Findings
- Conclusion
- Critical Evaluation
- Discussion Questions
- References
To study people’s roles in prison situations, Zimbardo converted a basement of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison. He advertised asking for volunteers to participate in a study of the psychological effects of prison life. The 75 applicants who answered the ad were given diagnostic interviews and personality tests to elim...
Asserting Authority
Within hours of beginning the experiment, some guards began to harass prisoners. At 2:30 A.M. prisoners were awakened from sleep by blasting whistles for the first of many “counts.” The counts served as a way to familiarize the prisoners with their numbers. More importantly, they provided a regular occasion for the guards to exercise control over the prisoners. The prisoners soon adopted prisoner-like behavior too. They talked about prison issues a great deal of the time. They ‘told tales’ on...
Physical Punishment
Push-ups were a common form of physical punishment imposed by the guards. One of the guards stepped on the prisoners” backs while they did push-ups, or made other prisoners sit on the backs of fellow prisoners doing their push-ups.
Asserting Independence
During the second day of the experiment, the prisoners removed their stocking caps, ripped off their numbers, and barricaded themselves inside the cells by putting their beds against the door. The guards called in reinforcements. The three guards who were waiting on stand-by duty came in and the night shift guards voluntarily remained on duty.
Because the guards were placed in a position of authority, they began to act in ways they would not usually behave in their normal lives. The “prison” environment was an important factor in creating the guards’ brutal behavior (none of the participants who acted as guards showed sadistic tendencies before the study). Therefore, the findings support...
However, there is considerable evidence that the participants did react to the situation as though it was real. For example, 90% of the prisoners’ private conversations, which were monitored by the researchers, were on the prison conditions, and only 10% of the time were their conversations about life outside of the prison. The guards, too, rarely ...
What are the effects of living in an environment with no clocks, no view of the outside world, and minimal sensory stimulation?Consider the psychological consequences of stripping, delousing, and shaving the heads of prisoners or members of the military. Whattransformations take place when people go through an experience l...The prisoners could have left at any time, and yet, they didn’t. Why?After the study, how do you think the prisoners and guards felt?Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Naval Research Review, 30, 4-17.
Oct 25, 2024 · Stanford Prison Experiment, a social psychology study (1971) in which college students became prisoners or guards in a simulated prison environment. Intended to measure the effect of role-playing, labeling, and social expectations on behavior, the experiment ended after six days due to the mistreatment of prisoners.
Apr 30, 2024 · The Stanford Prison Experiment, also known as the Zimbardo Prison Experiment, went on to become one of the best-known studies in psychology's history—and one of the most controversial. This study has long been a staple in textbooks, articles, psychology classes, and even movies.
On a quiet Sunday morning in August, a Palo Alto, California, police car swept through the town picking up college students as part of a mass arrest for violation of Penal Codes 211, Armed Robbery, and Burglary, a 459 PC.
Jun 25, 2018 · We all know the story of the Stanford Prison Experiment. It has been a staple of introductory psychology textbooks and lectures for nearly fifty years (see Griggs, 2014). Ordinary young men were randomly divided into Prisoners and Guards; within a short time, the Guards become so brutal and the Prisoners so victimised that the study ...
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Aug 18, 2017 · More than 70 people volunteered to take part in the study, to be conducted in a fake prison housed inside Jordan Hall, on Stanford’s Main Quad. The leader of the study was 38-year-old...
