Psych 3

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Recommended: What can we learn from the Zimbardo prison experiment

The Zimbardo prison experiment (1971) was carried out at Stanford University in 1971. From August 14th, to August 20th, Professor Philip Zimbardo (1971) gathered 24 male students and set them up in a mock prison. The premise behind the experiment was that abusive behavior from prison guards and prisoners was due to inherent personality traits within the individual. By gathering these 24 students, Zimbardo (1971) hoped to show that guards and prisoners were not only abusive due to their personality, and not due to the situational circumstances. Philip Zimbardo (1971) published an advertisement offering fifteen dollars a day to any college students willing to participate in his mock prison. Out of the 70 people who had responded to Zimbardo’s (1971) ad, 24 male students were selected to play the roles of prisoner and guard. The 24 males were all deemed to be psychologically stable and healthy. Zimbardo (1971) ruled out any applicants with a history of drug abuse, mental disabilities, or a criminal record. Most of the men chosen were middle class, and white. The college students were to be split up equally between prisoners/guards, and would be paid fifteen dollars a day for a two week period. The experiment was conducted in the Stanford Psychology department basement. The mock guards were told they could use anything to enforce prison rules except violence. Their goal was to be strict and psychologically demeaning to the prisoners. Guards were told to dehumanize the prisoners, calling them by their assigned number instead of their name. Zimbardo (1971) took the role as prison superintendent and watched over the guards and prisoners. To begin the experiment, Zimbardo (1971) cooperated with local law enforcement and had all 12 pri... ... middle of paper ... ...would never greet a random stranger in an aisle way. But while working, it becomes second natural and I find myself greeting customers without even thinking about it. This alternate personality of mine sometimes trickles over into my everyday life, but is mostly confined to when I am at work. I take on a role that is not like my normal self, and I become so absorbed in it that I hardly even notice any behaviors that are abnormal to my everyday personality. Philip Zimbardo (1971) conducted an experiment that will be remembered for its shocking realization of how much a situation can control our personality. Nice people can turn into horrible people, and psychologically healthy people can lash out and become unstable. Even though Zimbardo’s experiment (1971) was cut short, it showed the world that evil places can take a huge toll on otherwise genuinely good people.

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