The Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford Prison Experiment was an experiment that aimed to explore the impact that power can have on a psychological level. This idea was approached through the relationships between prisoners and prison guards. It was conducted at Stanford University between August 14 and 20, 1971 in a basement portion of Jordan Hall (Stanford's psychology building) by a research group led by a psychology professor named Philip Zimbardo. Male students from Stanford University who volunteered to participate in the experiment were used. They were told they had to participate in a two-week stimulation in a prison. They were selected because they were the most psychologically stable and healthy. The majority of students were white and middle class. They had no criminal convictions or suffered from mental or physical illness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Twelve of the participants were told that they would act as prisoners and the other 12 were to be guards (making a total of 24 participants.) Zimbardo and the research team monitored the experiment via cameras installed in the “mock prison”. Before the experiment, Zimbardo and the research team told the guards that they were not allowed to physically assault prisoners or restrict the food or drinks they received. The local Palo Alto Police Department assisted Zimbardo with the mock arrests the prisoners underwent at their homes and followed all booking procedures a real prisoner would receive, including fingerprinting and taking ID photos. The prisoners were taken from the police station to the simulated prison where the experiment truly began. After just 36 hours, one prisoner, according to Zimbardo, began “screaming, swearing, getting into a rage that seemed uncontrollable.” It took a while before we were convinced that he was actually suffering and that we needed to release him. » The guards forced the prisoners to repeat the numbers they had been given to remind them that this was their new identity. The guards began to physically and mentally harm the prisoners in different ways. Most of the keepers were upset when the experiment was terminated after only six days. Guards also punished prisoners by taking their mattresses, which meant they had no choice but to sleep. on the concrete or didn't sleep at all. Several guards became increasingly cruel as the experiment continued. A waiting prisoner expressed concern about how other prisoners were being treated. The guards responded with more insults. a hunger strike in opposition to the guards' violence, he was sent to an "isolation cell" (which was a dark closet in the fake prison). The guards also told other prisoners to knock on the door while shouting at the prisoner. The guards said the only condition under which he would be released from solitary confinement would be if the other prisoners abandoned their blankets and slept on their bare mattresses. All but one of the prisoners refused to do so. Zimbardo ended the experiment early following a strong demand from Christina Maslach (a graduate student he later married) to stop subjecting the students to the harsh treatment they received as prisoners. Keep.