Controversial Psychological Experiment Turns 40

The Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) "celebrates" its 40th birthday this year. This is the study in which 24 middle-class, college-aged males volunteered to play the role of either “prisoner” or “guard." Although the SPE was scheduled to run for two weeks, the results were so devastating that the researchers ended it after just six days. The lessons learned in the SPE can be applied to a number of sociological situations including prison reform, bullying, conformity, self-improvement, violence, and hate crimes. Philip Zimbardo, the Stanford researcher who headed the SPE, created a documentary, “Quiet Rage,” in 1992. This documentary contains archival footage of the actual experiment as well as interviews with both the prisoners and guards.Read the entire article here: The Stanford Prison Experiment: History’s Most Controversial Psychology Study Turns 40

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