The Stanford Prison experiment was not a physical genocide, but a psychological genocide. The prisoners were stuck in the basement all day for 6 days, and both the guards and prisoners lost their morals and individuality. The act of dehumanization also provided the prisoners with fear, anger, and helplessness. Philip Zimbardo was a psychology professor at the University of Stanford. He wanted to operate an experiment that would show how people act in adverse conditions, and the psychological effects. So Zimbardo put offers for volunteers for the experiment in the local newspaper. It said the experiment would only be permitted to men and that they would get paid fifteen dollars a day, it was supposed to last for 1-2 weeks but only lasted
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So the guards sprayed them with a disinfectant cleaner to convey they had lice or other germs. The guards then stripped the prisoner naked, and searched them. (Goldstein, 2015). This was to make the prisoners feel embarrassed. To make the prisoners feel even more humiliated they wore nightgowns with no underwear underneath them (Emery, et al., 2015). Zimbardo stated, that “[R]eal male prisoners” don’t wear “dresses” but while in prison, they do feel “emasculated” so they wanted to recreate that the “same effects” (Zimbardo, 1999-2015). On the back and front of the gowns was an ID number (Goldstein, 2015). The ID numbers took place of the person’s name. These were made so the prisoners would all feel anonymous, the guards were only allowed to refer to the prisoners by their ID number. Guards made the prisoners wear stocking caps so it looked as though they had no hair on top of their head (Emery, et al., 2015). In other prisons and in the military, prisoners usually have their hair shaved or have a buzz cut. This minimized the prisoner’s individuality, since some people show their personality by the length or style of their hair. By doing this, Zimbardo said that it would make them feel more “humiliated”. A heavy chain was bolted to their right leg so they could be reminded of the “oppressive” environment they were in (Zimbardo, 1999-2015). Prisoners also wore rubber sandals that were flimsy and easy to break. Guards wore Khakis and aviator mirrored glasses (Goldstein, 2015). This gave the guards a sense of pride and cockiness. The glasses also made it so people couldn’t see the eyes of the guard, so they didn’t know their emotion, making the prisoners feel powerless or of a lower class. They also had a whistle which hung around their neck and Billy clubs which they borrowed from a police
So the guards sprayed them with a disinfectant cleaner to convey they had lice or other germs. The guards then stripped the prisoner naked, and searched them. (Goldstein, 2015). This was to make the prisoners feel embarrassed. To make the prisoners feel even more humiliated they wore nightgowns with no underwear underneath them (Emery, et al., 2015). Zimbardo stated, that “[R]eal male prisoners” don’t wear “dresses” but while in prison, they do feel “emasculated” so they wanted to recreate that the “same effects” (Zimbardo, 1999-2015). On the back and front of the gowns was an ID number (Goldstein, 2015). The ID numbers took place of the person’s name. These were made so the prisoners would all feel anonymous, the guards were only allowed to refer to the prisoners by their ID number. Guards made the prisoners wear stocking caps so it looked as though they had no hair on top of their head (Emery, et al., 2015). In other prisons and in the military, prisoners usually have their hair shaved or have a buzz cut. This minimized the prisoner’s individuality, since some people show their personality by the length or style of their hair. By doing this, Zimbardo said that it would make them feel more “humiliated”. A heavy chain was bolted to their right leg so they could be reminded of the “oppressive” environment they were in (Zimbardo, 1999-2015). Prisoners also wore rubber sandals that were flimsy and easy to break. Guards wore Khakis and aviator mirrored glasses (Goldstein, 2015). This gave the guards a sense of pride and cockiness. The glasses also made it so people couldn’t see the eyes of the guard, so they didn’t know their emotion, making the prisoners feel powerless or of a lower class. They also had a whistle which hung around their neck and Billy clubs which they borrowed from a police