Stanford Prison Experiment was abandoned after fake inmates left terrified by real-life friends
The Stanford Prison Experiment, an infamous psychological study that had to be shut down after just six days due to the traumatising effects it had on the participants, has been recreated by Netflix for a brand new reality show.
Netflix announced earlier this year that the TV show, called The New Stanford Prison Experiment, would attempt a more ethical version of the original experiment.
The concept of the experiment is quite simple, 24 people are placed in a fake prison where they are randomly assigned the role of guard or prison.
In the original experiment the guards carried out horrific abuse and their was a prisoner revolt by the second day, leading to the experiment being shut six days in.
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In Netflix’s version they made major changes to avoid this happening, with participants drawn from a variety of backgrounds and genders (the original was all white men), ‘extensive background checks and psychological testing’ being carried out, as well as a safe word if they needed out of an uncomfortable scene.
In the case of the original experiment however, none of this was present and it was far more unethical.
What was the Stanford Prison Experiment?
The 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment was conduced by psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who wanted to explore what would happen when individuals were placed in positions of power within a simulated prison environment.
The study was set up in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology department, where 24 male college students were assigned to the roles of either prisoners or guards.
Zimbardo himself acted as the prison superintendent.
In total, the experiment was supposed to last two weeks, but Zimbardo was forced to terminate it after just six days.
It turns out that those who were assigned as guards displayed extreme and pretty disturbing behaviour.
What kind of abuse did the guards enact on prisoners in the experiment?
The guards used abusive techniques and punishments, such as forcing prisoners to perform dehumanising tasks, all while restricting their access to basic needs like food and sleep.
On the second day, the prisoners staged a rebellion and within the first four days, three of them had to be released earlier after the experiment took a toll on their mental wellbeing.
Zimbardo later claimed that the 'social forces and environmental contingencies' meant that the guards behaved badly.
Simply Psychology reports that Zimbardo wrote: "Most of the participants said they had felt involved and committed.
"The research had felt 'real' to them. One guard said: 'I was surprised at myself.
"'I made them call each other names and clean the toilets out with their bare hands. I practically considered the prisoners cattle and I kept thinking I had to watch out for them in case they tried something.'
"Another guard said: 'Acting authoritatively can be fun. Power can be a great pleasure'... During the inspection I went to Cell Two to mess up a bed which a prisoner had just made and he grabbed me, screaming that he had just made it and that he was not going to let me mess it up'.
"'He grabbed me by the throat and although he was laughing I was pretty scared.
"'I lashed out with my stick and hit him on the chin although not very hard, and when I freed myself I became angry'."
Douglas Korpi, who served as inmate 8612 in the Stanford Prison Experiment, became a prison psychologist after the study.
He said: "The Stanford Prison Experiment was a very benign prison situation and it promotes everything a normal prison promotes — the guard role promotes sadism, the prisoner role promotes confusion and shame."
The whole thing was made into a film The Stanford Prison Experiment in 2015, with Zimbardo’s active participation, and now the Netflix remake.
The New Stanford Prison Experiment is available to watch on Netflix now.
Michael Slavin
