Stanford Prison Experiment in all new film
Nikki Waldmann
Mesa Legend
What can happen to good people when they are put in higher power? Well the Stanford Prison Experiment touches on just that. The Stanford Prison experiment is a movie that was released back in December of 2015, which was an independent released film, set straight to DVD/ online streaming. The movie is about a real life experiment that took place at Stanford University back in 1971, conducted by the psychology department and lead by professor Philip Zimbardo. This experiment was a social psychology experiment see what would happen to a person when put in a horrible situation.
The experiment was taken place in the psychology department basement, where the basement was turned into a prison. Professor Zimbardo wanted to see the social psychology side of what could happen to people when put in higher power. Once the department found their twenty-four males to participate in this experiment they did a sit down background check on these males to make sure they were competent to even be used in this experiment. Zimbardo then explained to the twenty-four different men that the experiment they were conducting was a prison simulation, to see how one could adapt and live being put into a prison.
Professor Zimbardo had asked each of the individuals if they wanted to be a prison guard or a inmate, to see if they had some type of preference. Their choice however, was irrelevant; their roles were decided by a simple coin flip After the men were all chosen and put into their positions of either being a prison guard or a prisoner; they were then a few days later picked up by real police officers handcuffed, and taken to the school blindfolded. Once arrived to the experiment the men were then given new clothes and new identities to live by for the next fourteen days. The basement was broken down into three different holding cell type rooms, a closet called “the hole” and the hallway.
The whole time this experiment was going on the psychology department was watching through a camera. As the experiment went on many of the men who played the prisoners started to feel as if this whole experiment was indeed real.That the psychology department wouldn’t let them leave if they asked to go.As for other “prisoners” some were playing along with no problem as for others started to go a little crazy thinking and believing they were really in prison.
Two of the prisoners had to be let go and sent home since their mental stance was corrupted by this whole experiment. After only six days the experiment was discontinued, and shut down by Zimbardo himself. The overall experiment conditions by many who viewed this experiment were appalling and over the top.Many find the documentary/movie very hard to watch and find it hard to swallow. One will have to watch and decide for themselves.
