Stanford Prison Experiment
A psychological experiment testing human behavior when the variables of the situation are manipulated. In 1971, a psychologist, Philip Zimbardo conducted this experiment in the basement of the Stanford Psychology Department located at the college. When put in a situation where people do not question their morals, the evil in them will become more apparent. To find the psychological effects when taking on the roles as either a prisoner or prison guard. Many people responded to the ad sent out in the local paper looking for volunteers. They “were given diagnostic interviews and personality tests to eliminate candidates with psychological problems, mental disabilities, or a history of crime or drug abuse.” (The Story :) Of the 70 who responded 24 were chosen, all were male, educated, and physically and mentally healthy. To choose who was either a guard or prisoner a coin was flipped. The men that were prisons were arrested by real officers and taken to a local booking unit. They were then finger printed, photographed, and then taken to holding cells where they were blindfolded. They were then driven to the Stanford College basement to start the …show more content…
Some guards were firm but fair, they followed the rules set by the prison. Others were the nice guards who would reward the prisoners and would not punish them. The other guards were belligerent and took every opportunity to humiliate the prisons. They did not have any signs that would predict the different behaviors between the guards in the preliminary screening of the men. Zimbardo invited Christina Maslach who questioned the ethics of the prison experiment. “Out of 50 or more outsiders who had seen our prison, she was the only one who ever questioned its morality.”(McLeod) The 6th day was the last day of the experiment due to the ethical problems with the prison and the harm it was doing to the prisoners
A psychological experiment testing human behavior when the variables of the situation are manipulated. In 1971, a psychologist, Philip Zimbardo conducted this experiment in the basement of the Stanford Psychology Department located at the college. When put in a situation where people do not question their morals, the evil in them will become more apparent. To find the psychological effects when taking on the roles as either a prisoner or prison guard. Many people responded to the ad sent out in the local paper looking for volunteers. They “were given diagnostic interviews and personality tests to eliminate candidates with psychological problems, mental disabilities, or a history of crime or drug abuse.” (The Story :) Of the 70 who responded 24 were chosen, all were male, educated, and physically and mentally healthy. To choose who was either a guard or prisoner a coin was flipped. The men that were prisons were arrested by real officers and taken to a local booking unit. They were then finger printed, photographed, and then taken to holding cells where they were blindfolded. They were then driven to the Stanford College basement to start the …show more content…
Some guards were firm but fair, they followed the rules set by the prison. Others were the nice guards who would reward the prisoners and would not punish them. The other guards were belligerent and took every opportunity to humiliate the prisons. They did not have any signs that would predict the different behaviors between the guards in the preliminary screening of the men. Zimbardo invited Christina Maslach who questioned the ethics of the prison experiment. “Out of 50 or more outsiders who had seen our prison, she was the only one who ever questioned its morality.”(McLeod) The 6th day was the last day of the experiment due to the ethical problems with the prison and the harm it was doing to the prisoners