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| Though simulated, the Stanford Prison Experiment seriously affected its participants. |
The social sciences offer much knowledge about people, cultures, organizations, and societies. Among the field’s many studies are those that explain human psyche and behavior. One classic research is the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) that sought to analyze human nature in the context of a simulated penitentiary.
An overview of the SPE
Using a grant from the US Office of Naval Research, Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo and his team of social psychologists constructed a pseudo-detention centre within the Stanford University’s Department of Psychology building in 1971. According to its website, the SPE aimed to determine ‘the psychological effects of prison life’ on college students who functioned as inmates and/or jail protectors (Zimbardo 2011, p. 4). What could have been a two-week simulation act ended abruptly on its sixth day due to abusive fake jail guards and the strong objection of Dr. Zimbardo’s colleague who ‘questioned its morality’ (p. 38).
