The Stanford Prison Experiment: Taking a Deeper Look

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A local newspaper ad reached out for volunteers to participate in a Psychological study, created by Philip G. Zimbardo and his research team, which sounded interesting for many individuals. Was it the best option to follow through with it? Volunteers were given a promise of being paid fifteen dollars a day of the study. Multiple members probably considered this a once in a life time event that could result in quick, easy money. Many may have heard about the Stanford Prison Experiment, but may not have been aware of the scars that it left upon the participants. Taking a deeper look into the study and the impacted outcomes on individuals will be elaborated on (Stanford Prison Experiment).
On August 14, 1971, the Stanford Prison Experiment had begun. The volunteers who had replied to the ad in the newspaper just weeks before were arrested for the claims of Armed Robbery and Burglary. The volunteers were unaware of the process of the experiment, let alone what they were getting themselves into. They were in shock about what was happening to them. Once taken into the facility, the experimenters had set up as their own private jail system; the twenty-four volunteered individuals were split up into two different groups (Stanford Prison Experiment).
By the flip of a coin, 12 members were assigned to act as prison guards and the other 12 members were assigned to act as the prisoners. According to the source Stanford Prison Experiment it states, “The guards were given no specific training on how to be guards.” The assigned guards were free at will, to do what they believed what needed to be done to keep order within the prison walls. The experiment contained three different types of guards that acted out in the experiment. One-third of...

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...of real-life prisons can encounter the same behavior, as the volunteers in just a Psychological study. Many may not know about the scars that were left upon the individuals in this study, but take a look at how a fake study can reenact such a real life experience for most.

Works Cited

Roller, B. (2008). A Quiet Rage, the Stanford Prison Experiment. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 58(3), 431-434. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194771933?accountid=9609
Stanford Prison Experiment. (n.d.). The: A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment. Retrieved from http://www.prisonexp.org/
Zimbardo, P. G. (2007). Revisiting the Sanford Prison Experiment: A lesson in the power of situation. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(30), B6-B7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214660796?accountid=9609

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