Psychological Experiments |
The sTanford Prison Experiment
Background
The Stanford Prison Experiment was created in 1971 by Philip G. Zimbardo. Zimbardo wanted test how quickly people would conform to a role given to them and to the extent to which they would carry out that role. In this case, he chose a prison setting which also allowed him to test whether the brutality that occurred in American prisons was due to guards having cruel personalities or to the prison environment itself.
Subject Selection
Subject selection was strictly on a volunteer basis. Zimbardo placed an ad in a newspaper asking for students to play the role of guards and prisoners for two weeks. In return, they would compensated with $15 dollars a day for their cooperation. A pool of 70 volunteers responded to the ad and out of which 24 male college students were chosen. They were screened prior to the experiment for psychological issues and all were found to be in good mental health.
The Experiment
Prior the beginning of the experiment, an artificial prison was constructed in the basement of the psychology building at Stanford University. The mock prison was modeled after actual prisons, even down to the bars on the jail cells. This was to induce as life-like a situation as possible, and the limit on the life-like simulation was that no physical violence would be permitted.
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Volunteers turned subjects were then randomly assigned. Twelve were assigned the role of prisoner and the other half were guards. Those who had been assigned the role of prisoner were arrested at their homes without warning. After being transported to the local police station, they were booked like every other criminal: fingerprinted, photographed, and booked. Meanwhile, those assigned the role of guard were issued a khaki uniform and received whistles, handcuffs, and dark sunglasses.
At the police station, the prisoners were blindfolded and transported to the artificial prison. Here, the de-individualization process began; prisoners were stripped naked, deloused, their personal possessions disposed of, given bedding, and issued a uniform upon arrival, exactly what happened to prisoners in real-life prisons. From then on, prisoners would only be referred to by the number that was printed on their uniform. They then filed into their cells where three guards were on duty with eight hour shifts
At the police station, the prisoners were blindfolded and transported to the artificial prison. Here, the de-individualization process began; prisoners were stripped naked, deloused, their personal possessions disposed of, given bedding, and issued a uniform upon arrival, exactly what happened to prisoners in real-life prisons. From then on, prisoners would only be referred to by the number that was printed on their uniform. They then filed into their cells where three guards were on duty with eight hour shifts
All the subjects settled into their roles quickly with the guards being the quickest. In the first few hours of the experiment, some of the guards on duty began to harass the prisoners. Eventually, the other guards joined in, harassing prisoners with insulting taunts, petty orders, and pointless and dull tasks to complete. From this, prisoners began to adapt and take on the attitude of a real-life prisoner; they talked about prison issues, "told tales" to the guards in order to get special treatment, and conformed to the prison rules.
On day two of the experiment, the prisoners rebelled against the guards by removing their stocking caps, ripping off their numbers, and barricading themselves into their cells using the beds. In response, the guards retrieved a fire-extinguisher and sprayed the prisoners with its chilling stream of carbon dioxide, forcing them away from the doors of the cells. Then, they broke into each cell and proceeded to remove the beds, strip the prisoners, and put the ringleaders of the rebellion into solitary confinement.
In order to control further rebellion, the guards set up a privileged cell. The three prisoners that had been the least involved in the rebellion were put into this special cell and reaped its benefits: their uniforms and beds returned, special food that was better than what the other prisoners got, and the ability to bathe and brush their teeth. After 12 hours, the guards took those three prisoners out of the privileged cell and replaced them with three other prisoners. This was done in order to create distrust among the prisoners; those who were receiving special treatment were thought of as informants by the prisoners who were not receiving special treatment.
Another result of the rebellion posed by the prisoners was that the guards actually saw the prisoners as true trouble makers, making the experiment no longer just a simulation, at least to those involved. Surveillance, control, and aggression increased dramatically thereafter. This control extended to the point that many prisoner behaviors became privileges. Things such as using the bathroom after "lights out" were no longer permitted, forcing prisoners to use buckets in the cells instead. Prisoners sometimes were not even allowed to empty those buckets, adding to the degradation of the environment.
Thirty-six hours into the experiment, prisoner #8612 is released after he began to suffer from emotional disturbances, unorganized thinking, and uncontrollable crying and anger.
In order to control further rebellion, the guards set up a privileged cell. The three prisoners that had been the least involved in the rebellion were put into this special cell and reaped its benefits: their uniforms and beds returned, special food that was better than what the other prisoners got, and the ability to bathe and brush their teeth. After 12 hours, the guards took those three prisoners out of the privileged cell and replaced them with three other prisoners. This was done in order to create distrust among the prisoners; those who were receiving special treatment were thought of as informants by the prisoners who were not receiving special treatment.
Another result of the rebellion posed by the prisoners was that the guards actually saw the prisoners as true trouble makers, making the experiment no longer just a simulation, at least to those involved. Surveillance, control, and aggression increased dramatically thereafter. This control extended to the point that many prisoner behaviors became privileges. Things such as using the bathroom after "lights out" were no longer permitted, forcing prisoners to use buckets in the cells instead. Prisoners sometimes were not even allowed to empty those buckets, adding to the degradation of the environment.
Thirty-six hours into the experiment, prisoner #8612 is released after he began to suffer from emotional disturbances, unorganized thinking, and uncontrollable crying and anger.
On day three, a visiting hour was set to take place. It was for parents and friends only, and each prisoner was allowed only two visitors. Prior to visiting hour, prisoners were washed, shaved, and groomed; the cells were cleaned; and the prisoners were fed a hearty dinner.
The experiment continued only one day longer, after multiple other subjects began to show emotional disturbances much like prisoner #8612, and some had even enter the early stages of depression due to the severity of the environment. What was supposed to have lasted two weeks was cut short at four days, ending one of the most unethical experiments ever to have been performed in American psychology.
The experiment continued only one day longer, after multiple other subjects began to show emotional disturbances much like prisoner #8612, and some had even enter the early stages of depression due to the severity of the environment. What was supposed to have lasted two weeks was cut short at four days, ending one of the most unethical experiments ever to have been performed in American psychology.
Conclusions
Even though the experiment was cut short, the results confirmed Zimbardo's hypothesis that people will quickly conform to the role they are designated to play. These results are especially applicable to stereotyped roles and these roles heavily influence the behavior and attitudes of the people they are designated to.
Relation to WWII and Nazi Germany
Throughout World War II, people were given roles to play. Just as in the experiment, those in a position of power conformed more quickly than those whom were being oppressed. Guards and other Nazi personnel conformed quickly, becoming heinous criminals. The people of Germany and other countries that were being occupied conformed to the role that they were given - bystanders. Then there are those that were oppressed, and they essentially became prisoners, much like those in the experiment.