Stanford Prison Experiment
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Carried out August 15-21, 1971 in the basement of Jordan Hall, the Stanford Prison Experiment set out to examine the psychological effects of authority and powerlessness in a prison environment. The study, led by psychology professor Philip G. Zimbardo, recruited Stanford students using a local newspaper ad. Twenty-four students were carefully screened and randomly assigned into groups of prisoners and guards. The experiment, which was scheduled to last 1-2 weeks, ultimately had to be terminated on only the 6th day as the experiment escalated out of hand when the prisoners were forced to endure cruel and dehumanizing abuse at the hands of their peers. The experiment showed, in Dr. Zimbardo’s words, how “ordinary college students could do terrible things.” The experiment, long hailed as a landmark in the ethics of psychological experimentation, still enjoys public fascination and intrigue, especially following the events of Abu Ghraib (2003).
Description
Type of resource | other |
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Date created | Undated |
Creators/Contributors
Author | Zimbardo, Philip G. | |
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Author | Haney, Craig. | |
Author | Banks, Curtis. | |
Author | Jaffe, David. |
Subjects
Subject | Stanford Prison Experiment |
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Subject | Philip G. Zimbardo |
Subject | Stanford University. Dept. of Psychology |
Subject | Stanford University > Faculty |
Subject | Prisons |
Subject | Psychology > Experiments |
Subject | Psychology > Study and teaching |
Subject | Evil |
Subject | Torture |
Subject | Madness |
Subject | Cults |
Subject | Brainwashing |
Bibliographic information
Related item |
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Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/vx097ry2810 |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Zimbardo, Philip G. Stanford Prison Experiment. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/vx097ry2810
Collection
Philip G. Zimbardo Papers
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