Stanford prison experiment

Legendary card · No. 1981

The Stanford prison experiment (SPE) was a controversial psychological experiment performed in August 1971 at Stanford University. It was designed to be a two-week simulation of a prison environment that examined the effects of situational variables on participants' reactions and behaviors. Stanford psychology professor Philip Zimbardo managed the research team that administered the study. Participants were recruited from the local community through an advertisement in the newspapers offering US$15 (equivalent to $119.25 in 2025) per day to male college students who agreed to participate in a "psychological study of prison life". Twenty-four participants were chosen after assessments of psychological stability and then assigned randomly to the role of prisoners or prison guards. Critics have questioned the validity of these methods. Those volunteers selected to be "guards" were given uniforms designed specifically to de-individuate them, and they were instructed to prevent prisoners from...

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