Stanford Prison Experiment

One of the most influential studies in history that violates present-day ethical guidelines would have to be, The Stanford Prison Experiment. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University conducted an experiment to examine the behaviors and roles of college students within a mock prison setting in 1971. The study overall examined 24 male college students who were considered physically and emotionally healthy and were placed in a prison setting for analyzation. Half of the male students were prisoners, the other half were prison guards, both randomly selected and the experiment occurred in the basement of the Stanford psychology department of the school. The basement was created to look like a mock prison by Zimbardo and his team, and they also attempted

The prisoners were given a number for identification purposes and a chain with a lock attached was put on each prisoner’s ankle. The guards were notified to never be violent with the prisoners, but always maintain control of the environment. The guards wore khaki outfits and sunglasses that made them and their emotions unidentifiable as prisoners were unable to see their eyes. The guards were free to create their own rules within the prison to maintain a positive process (Zimbardo, 1999-2016). The first day of the experiment went well with no negative incidents however, when the second day arose prisoners refused to listen to the guards and isolated themselves within their given cells. As the guards were taken back by the behavior of the prisoners they started to psychologically abuse them and also started to separate the prisoners from one another. When the behavior of the prisoners started to change in a negative manner, the guards also started to publicly embarrass the prisoners by sentencing them to solitary confinement and also torturing these individuals (Mental Floss,

The individuals were randomly selected and assigned to be either a prisoner or guard while given introductions as to what the experiment was for and what the rules and guidelines are. Prisoners were searched and provided a shower before dressing into their prison uniforms and given slip on shoes. Guards were given all black attire with handcuffs, a flashlight, a baton, and a whistle. The prisoners were all assigned a cell and given bedding with their wake times, their lunch times, and when lights were due to be turned off for bed time. Guards were notified to make sure to keep control of the environment however, refrain from using any physical force or derogatory remarks unless absolutely necessary. Within the first two days of the experiment the mental decline of the prisoners was obvious as they displayed and irritated and isolated they felt. They started to react negatively to their environment putting their mattresses and sheets up against the viewing of the cells, and destroying their environments. The guards tried to keep the prisoners from doing so, by reprimanding the individuals and putting them in a solitary confinement room with no windows or access to the outside cell mates. This was done to mimic the solitary confinement of an actual prison when prisoners refuse to