This move away from traditional scientific publication channels paid off for Zimbardo: The experiment’s shocking account of abuse gripped the nation, and its notoriety earned the psychologist numerous prestigious paid positions: He made a successful documentary, authored one of the most popular psychology textbooks of the time, and hosted a 1990 documentary series titled Discovering Psychology. Instead of publishing his findings in a peer-reviewed journal, Zimbardo took his project directly to The New York Times for the mainstream media buzz. The “SPE” isn’t even technically an experiment, as it has no control group or independent variable-Zimbardo admits he intended it more as a “demonstration” than an experiment. Various experts have criticized the Stanford Prison Experiment for its lack of scientific rigor ever since it was publicized. The Stanford Prison Experiment Wasn’t Really an Experiment For example, the guards refused to let the prisoners sleep, constantly harassed them with insults and arbitrary demands, and punished them by making them exercise until they dropped. While he planned to run the experiment for two weeks, Zimbardo ended it after just six days because his “prisoners” were suffering far more than he intended, largely due to their guards’ extreme abusive behavior. Ethical Issues In Stanford Prison Experimentĭecades later, psychologists still discuss the Stanford Prison Experiment’s ethical issues because of its shocking findings of human nature and the inhumane treatment of its test subjects. Keep reading to learn more about the ethical issues of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Zimbardo detailed his findings in The Lucifer Effect, which discusses the nature of human evil.
In 1971, Philip Zimbardo turned the basement of Stanford University’s psychology building into a simulated prison, paying undergraduate male volunteers to act as prisoners and guards.
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This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Lucifer Effect" by Philip Zimbardo.
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