The Stanford experiment is a study that was thought and conducted by Philip Zimbardo (American psychologist) in 1971 as a part of the social psychology. Its main purpose was to show the effects of the incarceration . More specifically, the fact that guards and inmates can degrade the detention’s conditions. This by adopting a behavior induced by a self-selection mechanism.
To achieve this experiment, the research team recruited students in exchange of payment. This was expected for two weeks and was taking place in a fake jail.
24 students were selected and divided randomly in two groups : guards and inmates. In order to increase the disorientation, the depersonalization and the disindividualization of the participants, Zimbardo imposed particular conditions on them. Especially regarding the costumes. Guards wore uniforms and possessed a truncheon while inmates were dressed with simple blouses without underwear and called by a number.
The day before the beginning of the experiment, guards received as single order to respect the physical non-violence. They have been told that the proper functioning of the prison was their responsibility and that they had to manage it in the way that suited them best.
The experimenters very quickly lost control. Inmates suffered and accepted humiliating treatments and sometime sadistic from the guards. Indeed, some of the inmates suffered from food deprivation and forced nudity. Violent behaviors were more carried out at night when the guards thought they were less watched by cameras. Moreover, at the end of the experiment, the result for most of them was a severe emotional disturbance.Thus, the experiment was stopped after six days instead of two weeks as originally planned.
The good point of the Stanford experiment is that it shows the impact of a fictitious role on the personality. As a matter of fact, roles of guards and inmates played by the students were so internalized that reality and fiction intermingled. Also, this study raises the question of the obedience to authority as a famous other experience in social psychology (Milgram experiment). But much more than the question of submission to an institutional authority (here the prison), Zimbardo and his collaborators showed behavioral drifts of people according to a particular context. Thus, guards and inmates were not genetically predisposed to act in this way, it is the situation and the context of the experience that have had an impact on the behaviors.
Nevertheless, it is important to keep a critical mind on this experiment. Many researchers have questioned the ethics and morals of this study. In addition, Zimbardo was personally involved in this experience (he was the prison supervisor) which offered a clear bias in the interpretation of the results and their subjectivity. Finally, some researchers and a 2018 publication of a social scientist named Thibault Le Texier talk about an experimental false protocol and questionable scientific ethics.
Moreover, although this study has posed many questions to researchers, it remains an essential experience and widely taught in faculties of psychology. In addition, it has even been the subject of several films including the 2015 titled “The Prison Experiment” and tracing the history of guards and inmates.
Words we have learned
-inmates : les détenus
-widely : largement, beaucoup, partout
– a truncheon : une matraque
– suited them best : leur convenait le mieux
– drifts : dérives
Lisa DOUTE : master de psychologie du développement et Noémie GRISON : master de psychologie clinique