The Zimbardo Prison Experiment

The students involved in the Zimbardo Prison Experiment were not cruel people, nor were they truly sadistic. When given the roles as prison guards and prisoners, their behaviors changed dramatically. As prison guards, normally friendly students acted as prison guards under the warden. Under the authority of the guards, the students with the roles of prisoners acted unnaturally and did as the guards told them. Similarly, the soldiers in Germany under Hitler's command did as they were told and acted as they did, not because they were bad people, but because of their positions in German society. They were soldiers and did as a German soldier under Hitler would do. Neither prison guard nor soldier acted aggressively because of their own personalities,