- Wanted to find out if prison guards behaved brutally because they have sadistic personalities or rather because of the situation that creates such behaviour.
A mock prison was created in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University (1973). Advertised for students to volunteer and extensive psychological testing was conducted in order to find the most emotionally stable to take part.
Roles were randomly assaigned. Prisoners were arrested in their homes by local police and were delivered to the fake prison. They were blindfolded, *****-searched, deloused and issued a uniform and a number that was to be used as opposed to their name. Guards were issued a different unifom complete with a wooden club, handcuffs, keys and mirror shades.
Social roles of the two groups were strictly divided with the prisoners rountines heavily regulated. There were 16 rules that were enforced by guards who worked in shifts, three at a time. Guards had complete power over the prisoners.
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