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The nature of evil
It was 1971. In the center of events is a very interesting character - American psychologist Philip Zimbardo. He has devoted most of his career to the study of the nature of violence. He was interested in what factors force people to release their animal instincts, disregarding all moral norms. One day he came up with a wonderful idea to conduct an applied experiment.
On the horizon, officials from the US Navy very successfully appeared, who wanted to find out what caused the constant conflicts in prisons and the army. The money was received, and the enthusiastic psychologist set to work. His goal was to recreate the conditions of a real prison and place absolutely ordinary, innocent people in them, having previously divided them into two categories - prisoners and guards. The whole action was supposed to last 2 weeks, and Zimbardo at this time was going to analyze the behavior and see what happens in the end.
How was the experiment
The makeshift prison was placed right in the basement of the Department of Psychology at Stanford University. Since there were enough doughs, it turned out pretty believable. Here you have solitary confinement cells, and a prison canteen, well, where without uniforms and props. The volunteers were young white guys who came from a newspaper ad. For the day of participation in the experiment, they were owed a tidy sum, so there were a lot of people willing. As a result, 24 people were selected and divided into bystanders and prisoners by a random lot. The state police were involved to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere and make it more believable.
She arrested each of the experimental prisoners right at their home, took fingerprints, took pictures and delivered them to the "prison". There they were herded into a shared shower, completely stripped, and as uniforms they were given ordinary shirts without underwear. For stronger oppression, each was put on tight tights on his head, a chain was fastened to his leg, and they were referred exclusively by a code number. There were few requirements for the guards. They had to conduct a daily check, keep order and had the right to take turns on duty, spending the night at home every other day. The main prohibition is that physical violence should not be used against prisoners.
Chronology
At first everything was calm. The guards and inmates felt awkward in their roles and felt like partying with strangers. But then a complete trash began. For no apparent reason, the prisoners rioted and began to break away with might and main. Feeling the power over the situation, the guards immediately dispersed everything with fire extinguishers and applied a very interesting psychological trick. Just like in prisons. The instigator was put alone, and the most obedient were put in a VIP cell. Every day the guards got used to their role more and more. They conducted long hours of searches, forced the prisoners to do push-ups and showed their dominance in every possible way. Over time, the prisoners got worse. One eccentric went home on the second day, and the new one who came to replace him was horrified by the brutality of the guards and went on a hunger strike. Then he was locked up alone, forcing him to hold a couple of sausages in his hand. In the second half of the week, things were much worse. Dr. Zimbardo suggested that the prisoners give up money in exchange for release. All agreed. A fake hearing was organized for them, which was refused and everyone was returned back to prison. Who knows how it would have ended, if not for the bride of Dr. Zimbardo, who, noticing all the trash of what was happening in the staged prison, immediately made a lot of noise. The experiment had to be closed on day 6 instead of the planned two weeks.
Outcome
Although the test subjects were completely random people who had never seen each other before, falling into the conditions of the experiment, the guards showed an unreasonable desire for violence and sadism. Under the pressure of such humiliation, the prisoners became depressed and completely submissive. In just a week of the experiment, they developed a psychosomatic rash all over their bodies. In terms of contributions to psychology, even unfinished experiences have become quite rewarding. Nevertheless, information appeared relatively recently that this experiment was fake. One way or another, it was very interesting for me to study this story, and I recommend that you watch the film "Experiment" based on these events.
It was 1971. In the center of events is a very interesting character - American psychologist Philip Zimbardo. He has devoted most of his career to the study of the nature of violence. He was interested in what factors force people to release their animal instincts, disregarding all moral norms. One day he came up with a wonderful idea to conduct an applied experiment.
On the horizon, officials from the US Navy very successfully appeared, who wanted to find out what caused the constant conflicts in prisons and the army. The money was received, and the enthusiastic psychologist set to work. His goal was to recreate the conditions of a real prison and place absolutely ordinary, innocent people in them, having previously divided them into two categories - prisoners and guards. The whole action was supposed to last 2 weeks, and Zimbardo at this time was going to analyze the behavior and see what happens in the end.
How was the experiment
The makeshift prison was placed right in the basement of the Department of Psychology at Stanford University. Since there were enough doughs, it turned out pretty believable. Here you have solitary confinement cells, and a prison canteen, well, where without uniforms and props. The volunteers were young white guys who came from a newspaper ad. For the day of participation in the experiment, they were owed a tidy sum, so there were a lot of people willing. As a result, 24 people were selected and divided into bystanders and prisoners by a random lot. The state police were involved to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere and make it more believable.
She arrested each of the experimental prisoners right at their home, took fingerprints, took pictures and delivered them to the "prison". There they were herded into a shared shower, completely stripped, and as uniforms they were given ordinary shirts without underwear. For stronger oppression, each was put on tight tights on his head, a chain was fastened to his leg, and they were referred exclusively by a code number. There were few requirements for the guards. They had to conduct a daily check, keep order and had the right to take turns on duty, spending the night at home every other day. The main prohibition is that physical violence should not be used against prisoners.
Chronology
At first everything was calm. The guards and inmates felt awkward in their roles and felt like partying with strangers. But then a complete trash began. For no apparent reason, the prisoners rioted and began to break away with might and main. Feeling the power over the situation, the guards immediately dispersed everything with fire extinguishers and applied a very interesting psychological trick. Just like in prisons. The instigator was put alone, and the most obedient were put in a VIP cell. Every day the guards got used to their role more and more. They conducted long hours of searches, forced the prisoners to do push-ups and showed their dominance in every possible way. Over time, the prisoners got worse. One eccentric went home on the second day, and the new one who came to replace him was horrified by the brutality of the guards and went on a hunger strike. Then he was locked up alone, forcing him to hold a couple of sausages in his hand. In the second half of the week, things were much worse. Dr. Zimbardo suggested that the prisoners give up money in exchange for release. All agreed. A fake hearing was organized for them, which was refused and everyone was returned back to prison. Who knows how it would have ended, if not for the bride of Dr. Zimbardo, who, noticing all the trash of what was happening in the staged prison, immediately made a lot of noise. The experiment had to be closed on day 6 instead of the planned two weeks.
Outcome
Although the test subjects were completely random people who had never seen each other before, falling into the conditions of the experiment, the guards showed an unreasonable desire for violence and sadism. Under the pressure of such humiliation, the prisoners became depressed and completely submissive. In just a week of the experiment, they developed a psychosomatic rash all over their bodies. In terms of contributions to psychology, even unfinished experiences have become quite rewarding. Nevertheless, information appeared relatively recently that this experiment was fake. One way or another, it was very interesting for me to study this story, and I recommend that you watch the film "Experiment" based on these events.
