Philip Zimbardo The Lucifer Effect
Philip Zimbardo’s infamous study: the Stanford Prison Experiment is another positive example of circumstantial determinants overriding personality. The Stanford Prison Experiment is an experiment designed to determine the effect of a medley of situational variables on the behavior of subjects roleplaying prisoners and guards in a simulated prison environment. In his subsequent novel, The Lucifer Effect, Zimbardo stated that originally, the experiment intended to discern “what people bring into a prison situation from what the situation brings out in the people who are there” (Philip Zimbardo). The participants, representative of educated youth belonging to the middle class, were arrested from their homes with no previous warning on Sunday, August 14th 1971. Upon arrival at the constructed prison simulation at Stanford University they were randomly assigned into
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two groups: prisoners and guards. At this point, the two roles were interchangeable, meaning that there were no traces of more aggression or authoritarianism in the guards than in the prisoners or violence and hostility in the prisoners than in the guards.
The participants had no pre-existing characteristics that would have caused them to identify with one particular group. Hereafter, the subjects will be referred to by their assumed roles of prisoner or guard. Immediately following the prisoners’ arrival at the staged prison they were ordered by the guards to strip and stand naked with their arms outstretched against the wall and their legs spread. This was the first initiative towards the degradation of the prisoners. Without any encouragement, some guards had already begun taunting the prisoners through actions such as mocking their genitals. Furthering the prisoners’ humiliation, they were forced to wear smocks, a type of gown, with identification numbers on their front and backs, a pair of rubber clogs and a woman’s stocking as a cap. Making matters worse, they had a chain attached to one ankle and were denied underwear (Philip
Zimbardo).
Most of the assigned guards quickly began abusing their power by demeaning, harassing and hurting the prisoners. Consequently, some prisoners developed “learned helplessness”, the feeling of passive resignation and depression as a result of continuous punishment or failure to achieve something (Philip Zimbardo). As the guards became more aggressive, they began demanding more obedience from the prisoners, who in turn grew increasingly more submissive to the point that they became completely dependent on the guards. One of the participants in the role of a prisoner had to leave after a couple of days following 36 hours of anger, coupled with screaming and crying (Saul McLeod). The degradation and humiliation the prisoners felt at the hands of the guards became such a serious issue that four more prisoners had to be released from the prison simulation early as result of displaying signs of possible long-term psychological damage. The experiment, originally intended to last two weeks, was terminated on the sixth day (Philip Zimbardo).
two groups: prisoners and guards. At this point, the two roles were interchangeable, meaning that there were no traces of more aggression or authoritarianism in the guards than in the prisoners or violence and hostility in the prisoners than in the guards.
The participants had no pre-existing characteristics that would have caused them to identify with one particular group. Hereafter, the subjects will be referred to by their assumed roles of prisoner or guard. Immediately following the prisoners’ arrival at the staged prison they were ordered by the guards to strip and stand naked with their arms outstretched against the wall and their legs spread. This was the first initiative towards the degradation of the prisoners. Without any encouragement, some guards had already begun taunting the prisoners through actions such as mocking their genitals. Furthering the prisoners’ humiliation, they were forced to wear smocks, a type of gown, with identification numbers on their front and backs, a pair of rubber clogs and a woman’s stocking as a cap. Making matters worse, they had a chain attached to one ankle and were denied underwear (Philip
Zimbardo).
Most of the assigned guards quickly began abusing their power by demeaning, harassing and hurting the prisoners. Consequently, some prisoners developed “learned helplessness”, the feeling of passive resignation and depression as a result of continuous punishment or failure to achieve something (Philip Zimbardo). As the guards became more aggressive, they began demanding more obedience from the prisoners, who in turn grew increasingly more submissive to the point that they became completely dependent on the guards. One of the participants in the role of a prisoner had to leave after a couple of days following 36 hours of anger, coupled with screaming and crying (Saul McLeod). The degradation and humiliation the prisoners felt at the hands of the guards became such a serious issue that four more prisoners had to be released from the prison simulation early as result of displaying signs of possible long-term psychological damage. The experiment, originally intended to last two weeks, was terminated on the sixth day (Philip Zimbardo).