The Stanford Prison Experiment

One of the most famous unethical experiments of all time only makes it to number six in our countdown. That doesn't mean it wasn't a corker, however. Which of the experiments do you think is worst?

	1971
	Why does abuse occur in prisons?
	Create a false prison, randomly assign volunteers as prisoners or guards and see what happens.
	Within days the guards became sadistic, the prisoners accepting of abusive behaviour and chaos took over. Riots, beatings, severe emotional breakdown – it all happened.
	The situation was allowed to run virtually out of control as the experimenters themselves became caught up in the fantasy.
	3/5

More information
It is one of the most infamous, and terrifying, experiments of all time. Twenty four normal, middle class, law-abiding men were randomly assigned roles as either inmates or guards in a ‘prison’. So rapid was the dehumanisation of the prisoners and rise of brutality amongst the guards, that the two-week experiment was cut short after just six days, but not before even the scientists themselves had felt the lines between experiment and reality blur.

The experiment was carried out by psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues, who constructed their mock prison in a basement in Stanford University. The ‘prisoners’ were dressed in ill-fitting smocks, known only by number and locked in cramped cells. The ‘guards’ were issued with wooden batons, military-style uniforms and mirrored sunglasses.

The situation was soon virtually out of control. Prisoners experienced, and accepted even though they could have left the experiment at any point, increasingly sadistic treatment at the hands of the guards. Two prisoners were so traumatised that they had to be released early. Even Zimbardo, who assumed the role of prison superintendent, found himself drawn into the role – when rumours of a planned rescue attempt circulated he contacted the local police department to ask if he could transfer his prisoners to their cells.

The Stanford Experiment showed how easily good people can be manipulated by their environment to perpetrate or accept heinous acts. Zimbardo has since campaigned for better prison conditions and has drawn parallels between his experiment and the atrocities committed at, for example, Abu Ghraib prison.

Image: Robin Davis

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