Philip Zimbardo's Experiment

Philip Zimbardo was a psychology professor at Stanford University. His plan was to set up a research experiment to study how people conformed to the roles they are given. The experiment was set up in the basement of Stanford Psychology building. Zimbardo’s goal was, “... to understand more about the process by which people called “prisoners” lose their liberty, civil rights, independence, and privacy, while those called “guards” gain social power by accepting the responsibility for controlling and managing the lives of their dependent charges” (Zimbardo par. 11). Although the experiment was good in theory, it had negative psychological effects on the “prisoners.”
Being in prison can affect the prisoner physically, but it can also affect you mentally. A lot of people think that you do your time, get in, and get out. In Zimbardo’s
They enforced all sixteen of the rules they were given and then some. This led to disobedience from the prisoners and rebellion against the guards which caused the guards to punish the prisoners with early morning wake up calls, making them stand for count for hours on end, and prisoners being forced to scrub the toilets by hand. The guards accomplished their goals by stripping the prisoners and intimidating them. Guard M was recalling how it felt treating the prisoners like that, “I was surprised at myself...I made them call each other names and clean the toilets out with their bare hands. I practically considered the prisoner’s cattle, and I kept thinking: “‘I have to watch out for them in case they try something’” (Zimbardo par. 19). Embracing the power and the perks that came with it, the guards bragged about going home and doing simple things such as spending time with their families or significant others. This allowed the guards to show the prisoners how much more privelaged they were. The prisoners were not treated fairly but they also weren’t represented