October 3, 2017 ▸ Psychology

Episode 237: Stanford Prison Experiment: The Ultimate Power Trip

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On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the most famous psychological study of all time—The Stanford Prison Experiment. It was funded in 1971 by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, and it was designed to test the psychology of prisoners and prison guards. The basic premise they were testing was this: Prison guards tend to get abusive with prisoners. Prisoners tend to be rebellious and cause problems. Is this because of a certain temperament that is in people who are likely to become prison guards and prisoners, or is it purely situational once they both get inside of a prison?

The experiment that tested this was to get 24 physically and mentally fit males and put them in a mock prison environment. Randomly, twelve were selected to be guards and twelve to be prisoners. There was no personality test or other information that led to the placement. Then, the prisoners were locked up in mock cages in a fake jail set up in Stanford University. The prisoners were dressed as such, the guards were dressed as such, and the experiment was off and running.

What happened during the Stanford Prison Experiment astounded people. The guards got immediately power-hungry and abusive, and the prisoners got immediately rebellious, broken, and even mentally ill. There was a prison riot, visiting days, a parole board. There was violence, harsh treatment, psychological rewards and punishments, a “Hole” that people were locked in, and even prisoners who went crazy and had to be let go. And this was all within six days!

What did the Stanford Prison Experiment ultimately prove? Were its methods even sound or ethically responsible? What made them terminate the experiment on day 6 instead of the original 14 days? Listen, laugh, learn.

Great site about the experiment: http://www.prisonexp.org/conclusion