Zimbardo Experiment Thesis

David Neverdon
Zimbardo Experiment Essay
Grand Canyon University

Phillip K. Zimbardo, who is a professor of psychology at Stanford University, directed the Stanford Prison Experiment, also known as the Zimbardo Experiment. The goal of the Zimbardo experiment was to research how willing human beings would imitate to the characters of correctional officers and inmates in an acting role that replicated life behind bars. But what really happens when you remove the freedoms of human beings and place them in subservient positions and place them in jail cell type settings? The answer is that the mind and physical well-being is drastically and forever changed for the worse, which Mr. Zimbardo’s tests proved. Zimbardo advertised for
male students at the university to be a part of a psychological experiment concerning life as a prisoner. The student would be paid fifteen dollars a day for the one to two-week stay. Twenty-one students were selected for the experiment in which they would play the roles of correctional officers and inmates. (Haney, et al 1973) So day one of the experiment, in 1971, Police Officer when throughout the campus and arrested the students. They were transported by Police cars to the “Stanford County Prison” which was created in the University’s Psychology Department building’s basement. Classrooms and offices were converted into small jail cells that were equipped with cameras and recording devices for observation. There was also a prison yard where prisoners could enjoy limited sunlight. A room designated for solitary confinement was labeled “The Hole”. The experimenters tried to make this mock prison as close to the real thing as possible. Each prisoner was fingerprinted and issued clothes, identification numbers, bedding, soap, and a towel. They were also strip searched and humiliated in front of the other prisoners. The guards at “Stanford County Prison” were issued identical khaki uniforms and silver shaded sunglasses that prohibited them from making any eye contact with the prisoners. Billy clubs and handcuffs were also given to each guard for protection and authenticity. The guards in the experiment had no real formal training, but adjusted very well to the role of controlling the prison and its inmates. Many of these men stated that they went through a total change in their aggression and tolerance levels. Even though the prisoners knew the jail wasn’t real, they too fell into the characteristics of their role. They started behaving as any criminal in jail would. Their confinement, temporary as it was, still affected them physically and emotionally. The pseudoscientist’s had to release one inmate in less than forty-eight hours after the test had started.
He felt life-threatening despair, confused thought, uncontainable sobbing, and episodes of extreme anger. Other inmates were freed from the test within the three day period due to related diagnoses. One prisoner even developed a psychological irritation on his whole body that was caused by his denial of his parole appeal by the simulated hearing committee. The inmates and guards were so affected by their surroundings and conditions that the prisoners started a riot after the second day, and the guards dealt with it rather violently. The Ringleaders of the riot were moved from the cells and put into “The Hole”. After spending their time in solitary confinement prisoners were switched around putting some of the ringleaders in with good prisoners that had nothing to do with the riot. The Stanford Prison Experiment had several important implications. One of which derives from average males that were so drastically affected under the burdens of being placed in a confinement setting. When these outcomes are correlated to the much more long- term and harshness of a real prison, you can only imagine the adverse effects on the real criminals serving jail
time. Another important implication of the experiment is that we allow ourselves to take on the characteristics of our roles in society, whether that role be a prisoner or a guard, or even a husband, or an individual who is extremely shy or in despair. The Zimbardo/Stanford Prison Experiment gave insight into the incarceration period. The participants were affected by the experiment in rather profound ways that changed some of their views on prison life forever. The Zimbardo/Stanford Experiment was unethical and violated the Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association. Zimbardo acknowledges the ethical problems with the study, suggesting that "although we ended the study a week earlier than planned, we did not end it soon enough." (Cherry 2011)

References
Cherry, Kendra. The Stanford Prison Experiment, An Experiment in the Psychology of Imprisonment. 2011. About.com Guide. psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/stanford-pri...
Haney, C., Banks, W.C. & Zimbardo, P.G. (1973) A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Naval Research Review, 30, 4-17.