The Stanford Prison Experiment: Does Evil Make It Out Alive?
1078 Words5 Pages
Does Evil Make it Out Alive?
Stanley Milgram was known as one of the most unorthodox psychologist in the 60’s. That was until Philip Zimbardo conducted The Stanford Prison Experiment in the 1970s and set the bar higher. Milgram tested for obedience. How far is a person willing to go in order to obey? Zimbardo really put that theory to the test when he used twelve college men to be guards and twelve college men to be prisoners. Do keep in mind, all of these men were tested to make sure they were in perfect mental standing. Some say his experiment was insane or unconventional, others refuse to believe the results, and many common people did not understand. Since the experiment only lasted six days, it is impossible to tell what would have happened…show more content… He was removed from the experiment and replaced. By this time, the guards decided to end the rebel of the prisoners. "They got a fire extinguisher which shot a stream of skin-chilling carbon dioxide, and they forced the prisoners away from the doors" ( Zimbardo 12). Anytime someone would rebel or not follow the rules, the guards would punish all of them. They did this by physical punishment or putting them in a small dark closet alone. “The corridor opposite of the cells was a small closet which became ‘The Hole,’ or solitary confinement. It was dark and very confining, about two feet wide and two feet deep, but tall enough that a ‘bad prisoner’ could stand up” (Zimbardo 5). All of a sudden, this became a real prison. This was not an experiment anymore. Prisoners could not know the time or what day of the week it was, let alone if it was dark or light outside. “There was no windows or clocks to judge the passage of time, which later resulted in some time-distorting experiences” (Zimbardo 5). Complete authority had taken over and no one was stepping in. The behavior of the guards and the prisoners had drastically