Stanford Prison Experiment Reflection

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Objective:

To investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life.

Dr. Zimbardo was interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards or had more to do with the prison environment.

Participants and Roles:

There were twenty-four male students out of seventy-five were selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.

Original Assigned:

Prison Guards – To maintain order without resorting to violence

Prisoners – To portray being a criminal without known case

Outcome:

Prison Guards – They subject prisoners to humiliation and torture to instill a sense of obedience

Prisoners – They felt dehumanized bringing about rebellion and nervous breakdowns

Setting:

The simulated prison included three six by nine foot prison cells. Each cell held three prisoners and included three cots. Other rooms across from the cells were utilized for the prison guards and warden. One very small space was designated as the solitary confinement room, and yet another small room served as the prison yard.

The 24 volunteers were then randomly assigned to either the prisoner group or the guard group. Prisoners were to remain in the mock prison 24-hours a day for the duration of the study. Guards, on the other hand, were assigned to work in three-man teams for eight-hour shifts. After each shift, guards were allowed to return to their homes until their next shift. Researchers were able to observe the behavior of the prisoners and guards using hidden cameras and microphones.

Findings:

While the Stanford Prison Experiment was originally slated to last 14 days, it had to be stopped after just six days due to what was happening to the student participants. The guards and prisoners started...