Psychology: The Stanford Prison Experiment - BBC Documentary
Summary
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Highlights
The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted at Stanford University in 1971.
The experiment aimed to understand how good people react when placed in an evil environment.
The basement of the psychology department was converted into a simulated prison.
Participants were randomly assigned to be either guards or prisoners.
Guards were given military uniforms and reflective sunglasses to dehumanize them.
The experiment was designed to test obedience to authority, similar to Milgram's experiment.
The guards quickly began to exhibit abusive behavior towards the prisoners.
Prisoner 8612 became the first to show signs of severe psychological distress.
The experiment was intended to last two weeks but was ended after only six days due to ethical concerns.
The experiment showed that people can easily slip into roles of power and abuse, even when they are 'good' individuals.
The Stanford Prison Experiment raised significant ethical questions about the treatment of participants in psychological studies.
The experiment's findings suggested that the situation can have a powerful influence on individual behavior.
The role of the prison superintendent was a dual role that Zimbardo should not have taken on.
The experiment demonstrated the power of social situations to overwhelm individuals.
The guards' behavior escalated to a point where they were using physical and psychological abuse.
The experiment had a profound psychological impact on participants, blurring the line between reality and simulation.
The aftermath of the experiment led to a reevaluation of ethical guidelines in psychological research.
The experiment showed that even a short period of time can be enough to change a person's behavior drastically.
The guards' behavior was so extreme that it shocked even the researchers.
The experiment highlighted the importance of understanding the roots of human cruelty and obedience to authority.
Transcripts
[Music]
I was the first one to be picked up so
they put me in a
Cell they locked me in there in this
degrading little
outfit hey I don't want anybody left
violation the
rules
simulation I got to go to a doctor
anything Jesus Christ I'm burning up ins
don't you
know I've never screamed so loud in my
life never been so upset in my life it
was an experience of being out of
control this [ __ ] take
it Stanford University Northern
California one of America's most
prestigious academic institutions and in
1971 the scene of one of the most
notorious experiments in the history of
[Music]
psychology I was interested in what
happens if you put good people in an
evil
[Music]
Place does the situation outside of you
the institution come to control your
behavior or does the things inside of
you your attitude your values your
morality uh allow you to to rise above
uh a negative
environment the negative environment
zimbardo chose to test his ideas was a
prison he would convert the basement of
the University's psychology department
into a Subterranean jail we put uh
prison doors on each of three office
cells in the cells there was nothing but
three beds uh and and there was very
actually very little room for anything
else cuz they were very small and here
we had solitary confinement which we
called the Hole uh and in the hole was
was the place where prisoners would be
put for punishment it was a very very
small area when you closed the door it
was totally
[Music]
dark all the guards wor military
uniforms and we had them wear these
silver reflecting
sunglasses and what it does is you can't
see someone's eyes and so that loses
some of the the humanness the
humanity in general we wanted to create
a sense of power as the guards as a
category are people who have power over
others in this case power over the
prisoners a decade earlier psychologist
Stanley Milgram had also looked at how
we respond to
Authority in order to understand how
people were induced to obey unjust
regimes and participate in atrocities
such as the Holocaust he set up an
experiment volunteers were told they
were taking part in scientific research
to improve prove memory you open those
and tell me which of you is with
pleas
teer separated by a screen the teacher
would ask the learner questions in a
word game and administer an electric
shock when the answer was incorrect he
was told to increase the voltage with
each wrong
answer Cloud horse Rock
House
answer wrong
unre 50 volts answer
horse experiment that's all get me out
of here get me out of here please
continue please I refuse to go in let me
out refuses to go in the experiment
requires you continue teacher please
continue participants didn't know that
the learner was really an actor and the
so-called shocks harmless you're going
to get a shot 180 volts
[Music]
[Applause]
I can't stand the pain let me out of
here stand I'm not going to kill that
man there I mean who's going to take the
responsibility for anything happens to
that gentlemen I'm responsible for
anything that happens here continue
please all right next one slow walk
dance truck music two3 of volunteers
were prepared to administer a
potentially fatal electric shock when
encouraged to do so by what they
perceived as a legitimate authority
figure in this case a man in a white
coat 375
Vol I think something's happened to I
fallowing that I don't get no answer he
was hollering a less vage can't you
check in and see if he's all right place
milgram's findings horrified America
they showed that decent American
citizens were as capable of committing
acts against their conscience as the
Germans had been under the
Nazis like mgrm zimbardo was interested
in the power of social situations to
overwhelm individuals
his experiment would test people's
responses to an oppressive regime would
they accept it or act against
it Zim's experiment was conducted
against a backdrop of civil rights
activism and protest against the Vietnam
War there was a sense of student power
student dominance and student Rebellion
against against Authority in
general it was from the student body
that zimbardo selected his
participants after passing tests to
screen out anyone with a psychological
abnormality they were paid $15 a day
each was randomly assigned to the role
of God or prisoner it was a prison to me
it still is a prison to me I don't look
on it as an experiment or a simulation
was just a a prison that was run by
psychologists instead of run by the
state I was 20 and that September I was
going to college and it would be nice to
have a summer job but there sure wasn't
a lot of time left and I looked in the W
ads and I found this thing which was
just going to fit it was just two weeks
once you put a uniform on and are given
a job to keep these people in line you
really become that person what you put
on that khaki uniform you put on the
glasses you put on you take the night
stick I was on summer break from my
first year in college and uh I was
looking for a job had to choose between
that and making pizzas that sounded like
a lot more fun
as well as running the experiment
zimbardo took on the role of prison
superintendent he began by briefing the
guards I said you have to maintain Law
and Order if prison is escaped the study
is over and you can't use physical
violence you can create a sense of fear
in them you can create notion that their
life is totally controlled by us and
that be constant surveillance we have
total power in the situation and they
have none
prisoners were brought to the basement
prison blindfolded to confuse them about
their whereabouts they were stripped and
deloused of course the guards started
making fun of their genitals and
humiliating them and really it's a start
of what's known as a degradation process
which not only prisons but lots of
military type outfits Ed that
process when I first got here even
though like I had to strip I they would
call me names I still didn't feel at all
like I was in the prison I was just
looking at it as a
job I recall sort of walking up and down
the very short hallway which was the
prison Hall and looking in on the
prisoners and they're basically lounging
around on their beds I felt it was like
the day in summer
camp the first day I said this might be
a very long very boring
experiment uh because it's conceivable
nothing will
[Music]
happen I arrived independently at the
conclusion that this experiment must
have been put together to prove a point
about prisons being a Cru and inhumane
place and therefore I would do my part
you know to to help those results come
about I was a confrontational and
arrogant 18-year-old at the time and uh
you know I said somebody ought to stir
things up a bit here [ __ ] this
experiment and [ __ ] Dr zimo [ __ ]
on the second morning the prisoners had
decided to stir things up as
well the guards found some of them had
used their beds to barricade their cell
prisoner 8612 was one of the Ring
leaders of the
Rebellion
simulation it's a [ __ ] simulated
experiment no prison they take your bed
in your clothes in
prison initially I was stunned I didn't
expect the Rebellion because not much
happened and it wasn't clear what they
were what they were rebelling against
but they were rebelling against the
status rebelling against being anonymous
against um having to follow orders from
from these these other
students as punishment for the Rebellion
prisoner 8612 was put in the hole and
the guards turned on the other
prisoners the guards felt that they now
have to up the ante of being tough the
prisoners made the mistake of beginning
to use profanity against the guards in a
very personalized way so not against the
guards but you know you little punk you
you big [ __ ] and so and the guards got
Furious well gentlemen here it is time
for count prisoners were repeatedly
woken in the middle of the night the
guards made them do menial physical
tasks and clean out toilets with their
bare hands we made it a a point to not
give them any sense of of comfort or
what to expect that you know that
anything could happen to them at any
time time including being red from their
sleep at any hour and forced to stand up
in a line and have me hurl insults at
them and make them do
exercises when you interrupt people's
sleep they tend to become a little
disoriented and since there was no
daylight in the prison they had no idea
whether it was night or
day I think that I was the instigator of
this uh whole schedule of harassment
the harassment of the guards took its
toll on Rebellion leader 8612 he told
zimbardo he wanted to leave the
experiment zimad responded not as a
psychologist but as a prison
superintendent I said well I can see to
it the guards don't hassle you
personally uh and in return all I would
like is some information from time to
time about what the prisoners are doing
so essentially I'm saying I'd like you
to be a snitch an Informer and I said
think it over and if you still want to
leave fine
confused prisoner 8612 returned to his
cell and told the other prisoners that
no one could
leave let me
out
[Music]
out he believed that we wouldn't let him
go although we've never said that but
the fact that he was the ring leader of
the rebellion and he told the other
prisoners they won't let you leave that
really transformed the experiment into a
prison I was told that I couldn't quit
and at that point I just felt totally
hopeless more hopeless than I'd ever
felt
before soon after returning to his cell
prisoner 8612 started showing signs of
severe distress God damn it [ __ ] up
you don't know you don't know I mean God
I mean Jesus Christ I'm burning up
inside don't you know I didn't [ __ ]
can't take it he came up with a plan
that if he acted crazy we would have to
release
him I feel so [ __ ] up inside I feel
really [ __ ] up inside you don't know I
got to go I to a doctor anything I can't
say that I'm [ __ ] up I don't know how
to explain I'm all [ __ ] up inside oh I
no it starts with make believe and then
he's doing it and cursing and screaming
and you know whatever that little
boundary is that he he he moved across
not that he became really crazy but uh
he became you know excessively Disturbed
I mean it's so much so that we
immediately said we have to release him
as an experience it it was unique I've
never screamed so loud in my life um
I've never been so upset in my life and
it was an experience of being out of
control the boundary between reality and
make believe was to become blurred even
for zimbardo a rumor circulated that
released prisoner 8612 would return with
friends to liberate the remaining
prisoners
I quickly convinced myself that you know
my most important function was you know
not to allow this prison Liberation to
occur and what can I do to keep my
prison going not the experiment
going the prison was dismantled and the
prisoners moved to another part of the
building Zim waited in the empty
Corridor preparing to tell 8612 and his
friends that the study was over when a
colleague appeared and began asking
questions about the scientific basis of
the research I'm trying to get rid of
him then he says what's the independent
variable I get furious because he
doesn't understand that there's a riot
about to take place that this prison is
about to erupt had totally lost this
whole other identity of scientists
researchers
psychologists the rumor jailbreak never
materialized the guards had dismantled
the prison for nothing and had to
rebuild it they took their frustration
out on the
prisoners they escalated again the level
of control the level of dominance the
level of humiliating
Behavior 819 was the next prisoner to
rebel against the harassment of the
guards he barricaded himself in his cell
and refused to take part in the count
you're not only not getting a cigarette
but for as long as the cell's blocked
you're going to be in solitary when you
get out AAP for 819 Disobedience the
guards made his cellmates do mindless
work this undermined any vestage of
solidarity amongst the prisoners who now
chose to accept the tyranny of the
guards rather than risk further
harassment that was one of the
surprising things to me is that there
was so little uh that the prisoners did
to support one another after we started
our campaign of you know divide and
conquer isolated and distraught prisoner
819 tolds zimo he wanted to leave while
I'm interviewing
819 uh and saying okay you know it's all
over thank you for your participation
you know I'll give you money for the
whole for the whole two weeks uh even
though you're leaving early he hears the
prisoners shouting 819 did a bad
thing 819 did a bad thingis 819 did a
bad thing 819 and he said I can't leave
and he's crying and he says I can't
leave said what do you mean you can't
leave he said no I have to go back cuz I
don't want them to think you that I'm a
bad prisoner and that's that's when I
really flipped out that in such a such a
short time you know a college student's
thinking could become so distorted I
said you're not a bad prison you're not
a prisoner and this is not a prison and
it was this thing where he opened his
eyes it was just really like a cloud
being
lifted seeing things clearly prisoner
819 reverted to his original request and
was
released to replace him the
experimenters called in one of their
reserves from the standby list I got a
phone call saying are you still
available as an alternate U kind of
cheery female secretary voice I said yes
sure and so she said could you start
this afternoon and I said yes sure and
my role in The Experiment really
[Music]
began I was blindfolded and then
stripped and supposedly
deloused he came into a mad
house
full-blown all of us had gradually
acclimated to the increasing level of
aggression the increasing powerlessness
of the prisoners increasing dominance of
the
guards and he comes in and says what's
happening here to the other prison they
said hey you better not make trouble
it's really terrible it's a real prison
uh and uh and he says you know I'm out
of here I I I don't want and they said
no they're not you can't leave once
you're here you're stuck this is a real
prison 46 since you got your hands in
the air why don't you play Frankenstein
209 you be the Bride of Frankenstein you
stand here prisoner 416 was soon
subjected to the harassment of Dave
asman nicknamed John Wayne because of
his Macho attitude 416 and I want you to
walk over here like Frankenstein and say
that you love
2093 I made the decision that I would be
as intimidating as cold as cruel as
possible I love you get CL get up close
I love you
night I love you night you
smile you get down hand 10
pushup two I just watched a movie called
Cool Hand Luke and uh the mean
intimidating uh you know Southern prison
Warden character in that film really was
my inspiration for the role that I
created for myself why did you try to be
obedient so
much it it's my nature to be
obedient you li he was speak L he was
creative in his evil he would think of
very ingenious ways to degrade to demean
um the prisoners what if I told you to
get down in that
FL and [ __ ] the F what would you do
then one of the best guards were was
also on that shift
and uh instead of confronting this bad
guard the sadistic guard essentially
because he didn't want to see what was
happening he became the Gopher he would
go out to get the food and and things of
this kind and that left the John Wayne
guard and another guard on that shift to
be dominant we were continually called
upon to act in a way that just is
contrary to what I really feel inside
just continually giving out [ __ ] it's
just really one of the most oppressive
things you can do never ref 46 while
they do push-ups you sing amazing gra
ready
down push on your own The Madness of the
experiment started to affect prisoner
416 keep going I began to feel that I
was losing my identity until finally I I
wasn't played I was 416 I was really my
number and 416 was going to have to
decide what to
do prisoner 416 decided to go on a
hunger
strike they were pushing my
limits but here was a thing that I could
do that could push their
limits after I had missed a couple of
meals I saw that this was not a matter
of indifference to the guards I was
making Headway they were
upset I thought how dare this newcomer
come in and and try to change everything
that we had worked for the first 3 days
to set up and uh by God he's going to
suffer for that get in that CL then
frustrated by his continued Defiance
John Wayne threw prisoner 416 into the
hole after punishing the other prisoners
for his Disobedience John Wayne
encouraged them to vent their anger at
416 directly thank you
416 okay 209 myself thank you 416 we
would use our night sticks to bang on
the door and we would kick the door so
hard that you know it must have you know
shaken him very seriously inside scared
the life out of
him he yelled at me and threatened me
and actually sort of smashed a sausage
into my face to try to get me to open up
but I didn't have any intention of
eating until I was out
okay 416 should have been at some level
of hero because he's willing to oppose
the authority of the system in fact the
prisoners accept the guard's definition
of him as a
troublemaker I remember some of them
saying you know would you eat godamn it
you know we're sick and tired of this
and uh you know that was proof that you
know there was no solidarity there was
no support between the
prisoners while 416 was still in the
hole John Wayne made a final attempt to
break him by giving his fellow prisoners
a choice they could vote to release him
by making a small sacrifice you can give
me the
blankets and sleep on the bare mattress
or you can keep your blankets and 416
will stay in another
day now what would it be talking my
blank what will it be over here
my how about
5486 I'll give you my blanket off you
don't want his blanket we got three in
favor keeping the blanket we got three
guess one keep your blankets 416 you're
going to be in there for a while so just
get used to
it the study showed that power corrupts
and how difficult it is for people who
are the victims of abuse to stand up and
defend
themselves why doesn't anybody who is
being abused by a spouse or something
like that just say stop it um and we
realize now that that's not as easy as
it
sounds by the end of the fifth day four
prisoners had broken down and been
released 416 was on the second day of
his hunger strike and the experiment
still had another 9 days to
run at this point a fellow psychologist
visited Zim's basement prison and would
witness the brutality of the experiment
firsthand the guards had lined up the
prisoners to go to the toilet had bags
over their head chains on their feet and
were marching by and I looked up and I
saw this this circus this parade and I
said hey Chris you know look at that I
looked up and I just began to feel sick
to my stomach I had this
just chilling sickening feeling of
watching this and I just you know I just
turned
away and I just let loose in this
emotional tying I just lost it I was
angry scared I I was in tears and I'm
furious I'm saying you're supposed to
and then we had a big argument you're
supposed to be a psychologist this is
this interesting Dynamic behavior and
such a few day I'm going through this
whole thing the power of the situation
says no no it's that young boys are
suffering and you are responsible you're
letting it
happen I said oh my god of course you're
right the next day zimbardo ended the
experiment
studies like his stimulated heated
debate about the ethics of using human
subjects clearly young men suffered
verbally physically prisoners felt shame
in their role guards felt guilt so in
that sense it's it's unethical that is
nobody has the right the power the
privilege to do that to other people in
the wake of experiments like zimad and
mgrs ethical guidelines changed
introducing greater safeguards to
protect
participants in the Stanford experiment
zimbardo might have spared his
volunteers distress had he not taken on
a dual role in the study if I was going
to be the prison superintendent I should
have had a colleague who was overseeing
the experiment uh who was in a position
to stop it at any point or I should have
been the Principal investigator and get
somebody who was going to be the prison
superintendent I realized that was a big
mistake to play both those roles
shifting back and
[Music]
forth after the experiment zimb brought
all the participants together to talk
about their
experiences John Wayne would now come
face to face with the hunger Striker he
had
tormented I was a little worried I said
oh my God he's really going to come down
on me hard now uh now that we're on
equal uh footing it harms me how did it
harm you how does it harm you just to
think about you mean that people can be
like that yeah it let me in on some
knowledge that that I've never
experienced firsthand uh because I know
what you can turn into I know what
you're willing to do when I look back on
it now I behaved appallingly um you know
I it's just a horid to look at I think I
tried to explain to at the time that you
know what you experienced and what you
hated so much was was a role that I was
playing that that's not me at all I love
you to he was trying to dissociate
himself from what he had done that did
make me angry everyone was acting out a
part and playing a role prisoners guards
staff everyone was acting out aart um
it's when you start contributing to the
script that's you and thus it's
something you should take responsibility
for uh I didn't see where it was really
harmful it was degrading and that was
that was part of my particular little
experiment to see how I could uh your
particular little experiment why don't
you tell me about that I was I was
running little experiments of my own
tell me about your little experiment I'm
curious I wanted to to see just what
kind of verbal abuse that people can
take before they start objecting before
they start flashing back if I have any
regret right now it's that you know I
made that decision because it would have
been interesting to see what would have
happened had um had I not decided to to
for for
things it could be that I only
accelerated them that the same things
would have happened uh but we'll never
know if the extreme nature of Dave
echelman's Behavior tested the prisoners
it also presented the other guards with
a choice to intervene or not it
surprised me that no one said anything
to stop me they just accepted what I
said and no one questioned my authority
at all and it really shocked me why
didn't people when I started to get
abuse people so much I started to get so
profane that and still people didn't say
anything there were a few guards who
hated to see the prisoners suffer they
never did anything which would be
demeaning of the Prisoners the
interesting thing is none of the good
guards ever
intervened in the behavior of the guards
who gradually became more and more
sadistic over time we like to think
there is this core of human nature that
good people can't do bad things and that
uh good people will dominate over bad
situations in fact one way to look at
the Stanford Prison stud is that we put
good people in an evil place and we saw
who won well the sad message is in this
case the evil Place won over the good
people that did show some very
interesting and maybe some unpleasant
things about human
behavior it seems like you know every
Century every decade that we go through
uh you know we're suffering the same
kind of atrocities and uh you need to
understand why these things happen you
need to understand why people behave
like
[Music]
this there's a similar experiment
starting this Tuesday night on BBC 2
details coming up next
[Music]
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