This lesson contains 16 slides, with text slides and 2 videos.
Items in this lesson
The Stanford Prison Experiment
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The Stanford prison experiment was a social psychology experiment that attempted to investigate the psychological effects of perceived power, focusing on the struggle between prisoners and prison officers. It was conducted at Stanford University on the days of August 14–20, 1971, by a research group led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo using college students.
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Several "prisoners" left mid-experiment, and the whole experiment was abandoned after six days. Early reports on experimental results claimed that students quickly embraced their assigned roles, with some guards enforcing authoritarian measures and ultimately subjecting some prisoners to psychological torture, while many prisoners passively accepted psychological abuse and, by the officers' request, actively harassed other prisoners who tried to stop it. The experiment has been described in many introductory social psychology textbooks,although some have chosen to exclude it because its methodology is sometimes questioned.
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What should someone do if they are told to do something they think is wrong?
Talk about when people should listen to authority versus their own beliefs.
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Is it okay to do experiments that might hurt people’s feelings or mental health?
Think about the balance between learning new things and keeping people safe.
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Does wearing a uniform or being in a certain role change how people act?
Talk about how having a specific role or outfit affects behavior.
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Do people naturally start using power in bad ways if they have it?
Think about whether having power leads to harmful behavior.
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What makes an environment "toxic," and how can people avoid behaving badly in such a place?
Talk about how surroundings affect actions and how to make better choices.
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Is it ever okay to harm a few people if it might help many others?
Explore situations where hurting some might benefit others.
