Slide 1:

Slide 4: Background The idea came up because there was much violence in American Prisons
• Purpose: The primary goal was to investigate how individuals would react when placed
in positions of power or vulnerability within a simulated prison environment. It was to
look at how social norms and social conventions might influence the behaviors of
participants who are playing the roles of prisoners and guards.
• Duration: Originally planned for two weeks, the study was terminated after only six days
due to severe ethical concerns and also the fact that the participants got so caught up in
their roles that the study needed to be stopped early but there's a lot more to it than
that.

Slide 5: Experiment setup

Simulation:
 Description: Volunteers were randomly assigned the roles of guards or prisoners.
 Rationale: The simulation involved the creation of a mock prison environment, that was
meticulously replicated in the Stanford Psychology Department basement.
Authenticity:
 Description: Zimbardo and his team went to great lengths to recreate a lifelike prison
atmosphere. This included the inclusion of prison cells, a common area, and conditions
that mirrored those found in real prisons.
 Rationale: The aim was to induce a strong sense of realism, immersing participants in an
environment that closely resembled an actual prison. This realism was crucial for
understanding the authentic psychological responses of participants.
Random Selection:
 Description: Participants were randomly assigned the roles of guards or prisoners.
 Rationale: Random selection ensured an unbiased and unpredictable assignment of
roles, contributing to the study's realism. Keeping participants unaware of the true
nature of the experiment during selection added an element of surprise, fostering
genuine reactions and minimizing potential biases in role assignment.
Slide 7: The Role of Prisoners
It is important o note that the people who participated were the very definition of normal. They
were recruited by newspaper ads, and they were tested to make sure that they didn't have any
kind of medical or physical or psychological problems. They all had similar backgrounds; they
were middle-class students. Zimbardo wanted to make this prison experiment as real as
possible for both the prisoners and the guards, so he actually had the participants in the
prisoner condition arrested at unexpected times on what, to them, was a completely random
day. I don't mean that it was a fake arrest like with students in fake police hats putting them in
the back of their friend's car, I mean actual, real arrests by the Palo Alto Police Department,
who arrested them and handcuffed them and fingerprinted them, booked them, took a
mugshot and put them in an ill-fitting prison uniform.

Uniforms and Numbers:

 Description: Prisoners were assigned uniforms and identification numbers, intentionally
stripping them of their individual identities.
 Rationale: This deliberate deindividualization was aimed at fostering a dehumanizing
environment within the simulated prison, emphasizing the loss of personal identity and
reinforcing the power dynamics between guards and prisoners.
The first day at Stanford university was rather uneventful on day two prisoners rebelled
blocking cell doors with their cots and refusing to listen to guards in response guards used fire
extinguishers to subdue them from their things only got worse one prisoner suffers such a
terrifying mental breakdown that he was released guards denied prisoners cots made them use
a bucket as a bathroom. The guards also insisted that prisoner’s numbers were their new
identities and performed other acts of cruelty. Zimbardo insisted prisoners had also thoroughly
internalized their roles citing that some had said they'd accept parole and when they told that a
fowl prisoner would be released from solitary only if all prisoners returned their blankets only
one actually did. Zimbardo used his findings to insist that it was a person’s environment not
their personality that caused their behavior.

Slide 9: Real-World Implications

Insights:
 Description: Zimbardo's findings provided valuable insights into the potential for abuse
of power within real-world institutions, encouraging reflection on systemic issues.
 Rationale: The insights gained from the experiment shed light on the dark corners of
institutional dynamics, illustrating how unchecked power can lead to abuse. The real-
 world implications of these insights extend to various settings, prompting a re-
evaluation of power structures and the potential for mistreatment within institutions.
Ethical Guidelines:
 Description: The study played a pivotal role in influencing and shaping modern ethical
guidelines for human experimentation.
 Rationale: The ethical implications raised by the Stanford Prison Experiment were
substantial. The study's influence on ethical guidelines demonstrates its role in
prompting a re-evaluation of ethical standards in psychological research. Zimbardo's
experiment highlighted the need for strict ethical considerations to protect the well-
being of participants and prevent potential harm in future studies.`
1. Respect
"free & informed consent"
Review Board decides if deception is necessary and not harmful.
2. Beneficence

Conclusion:
This experiment