The Stanford Prison Experiment (1971) is one of the most famous psycholgical experiment of all the times. Zimbardo demonstrated that living in a place that is full of evil-input could generate cruel and sadic perpetrators. The Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. It was idealized by Zimbardo and other psychologists of the Stanford University. Twenty-four undergraduates were selected to play the roles of both guards and prisoners and live in a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. Prisoners and guards rapidly adapted to their roles, stepping beyond the boundaries of what had been predicted and leading to dangerous and psychologically damaging situations. One-third of the guards were judged to have exhibited "genuine" sadistic tendencies, while many prisoners were emotionally traumatized and two had to be removed from the experiment early. Prisoners suffered and accepted sadistic and humiliating treatment from the guards. The high level of stress progressively led them from rebellion to inhibition. By experiment's end, many showed severe emotional disturbances. The prisoner participants had internalized their roles. After only six days of a planned two weeks' duration, the Stanford Prison experiment was shut down. The experiment's result demonstrates the impressionability and obedience of people when provided with a legitimizing ideology and social and institutional support. Zimbardo has demonstrated that prison environment is full of “evil”- input that can trasform every man from dr. Jeckill to mr. Hide. What has happened in the mock prison of Stanford, could happen in other environment that favourished deindividuation, anomity, absorption in a role, obedience to authority, and other evil input. The Stanford Prison Experiment is the key to understand Abu Ghraib tortures and other violence perpetrated in those kind of environment
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Dr. David Evangelisti
Bachelor’s degree in Political science (Università degli Studi di Pisa), mark 110/110 cum laude. Final dissertation (19/10/2005): “Good people make bad things: dal comportamento aggressivo alla psicologia del male” [Good people make bad things: from the aggressive behaviour to the psychology of evil].
Contacts:
www.evangelistidavid.blogspot.com
www.psychologyofevil.com
David Evangelisti
evangelisti@hotmail.it
