“The 24 volunteers were then randomly assigned to either the prisoner
group or the guard group. Prisoners were to remain in the mock prison 24-hours
a day for the duration of the study. Guards, on the other hand, were assigned
to work in three-man teams for eight-hour shifts. After each shift, guards were
allowed to return to their homes until their next shift. Researchers were able
to observe the behavior of the prisoners and guards using hidden cameras and
microphones….
While the prisoners and guards were allowed to interact in any way they
wanted, the interactions were generally hostile or even dehumanizing. The
guards began to behave in ways that were aggressive and abusive toward the
prisoners, while the prisoners became passive and depressed. Five of the
prisoners began to experience such severe negative emotions, including crying
and acute anxiety, that they had to be released from the study early.
Even the researchers themselves began to lose sight of the reality of
the situation. Zimbardo, who acted as the prison warden, overlooked the abusive
behavior of the prison guards until graduate student Christina Maslach voiced
objections to the conditions in the simulated prison and the morality of
continuing the experiment….
According to Zimbardo and his colleagues, the Stanford Prison
Experiment demonstrates the powerful role that the situation can play in human
behavior. Because the guards were placed in a position of power, they began to
behave in ways they would not normally act in their everyday lives or in other
situations. The prisoners, placed in a situation where they had no real
control, became passive and depressed….”
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