In 1971, Phillip Zimbardo, a professor and psychologist at Stanford University, conducted one of the most controversial studies in the field of the field of psychology. With a group of students, he explored the conformity of the groups of the “guards” and “prisoners” via the social identities and roles. The students volunteered for the prison study and were randomly assigned the role of a guard or prisoner. For an anticipated two weeks, the students were to follow these roles and act accordingly
In the controversial Stanford Prisoner and Guard Experiment of 1971, ordinary people fell into sadistic, unrelenting roles with no more pressure other than merely being given the role and following orders. This is not an uncommon result for many experiments surrounding the concept of obedience. Similar results can be found in Stanley Milgram’s Perils of Obedience experiment of 1963, in which people across cultures and demographics all willing delivered what they believed to be a lethal electric shock