Psychological Effects Of The Stanford Prison Experiment

The Stanford Experiment was conducted on August 16 of 1971 through August 20 of 1971. The experiment was led by psychologist Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University. The experiment was then funded due to a grant from the United States Office of Naval Research; which was of interest for the United States Navy conductors and members, as well as the United States Marine Corps. The military funded the experiment to help determine the cause of conflict occurring between military guards and prisoners. The experiment was to be held in a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford building. Step 1: “Volunteers”. Subjects were due to answer a local newspaper ad calling for participants in a “study of psychological effects of prison life”. “We wanted to see what the psychological effects were of becoming a prisoner or guard”. (2/8 Stanford Prison Experiment) …show more content…
Over 70 citizens responded with applications. The applicants were then given diagnostic interviews and personality tests to eliminate candidates with actual psychological problems, medical disability problems, or a history of crime/drug use. 24 students from the United States and Canada in the Stanford area who wanted to earn fifteen US dollars an hour per day agreed by participating in the study. The students were young, healthy, intelligent, middle-class men. The men were then randomly assigned to prisoner or prison guard roles by the flip of a coin. There were 12 guards and 12 prisoners who had “assigned and selected roles at