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Guards Briefing
The researchers held an orientation session for guards the day before the experiment who were free within limits to maintain law. They were told that they can assert control over the prisoners but are to strictly refrain from physical abuse -
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Stanford Prison Experiment
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Arrival at Palo Alto Police Department
Upon arrival, the suspect was brought inside, formally booked, again warned of his Miranda rights, finger printed, and a complete identification was made. The suspect was then taken to a holding cell where he was left blindfolded to ponder his fate and wonder what he had done to get himself into this mess. -
Arrival at Stanford County Jail
Blindfolded and in a state of mild shock over their surprise arrest by the city police, the prisoners were put into a car and driven to the "Stanford County Jail" for further processing. The prisoners were then brought into our jail one at a time and greeted by the warden, who conveyed the seriousness of their offense and their new status as prisoners. -
Humiliation
Each prisoner was systematically searched and stripped naked. He was then deloused with a spray, to convey our belief that he may have germs or lice. -
Uniform
The prisoner was then issued a uniform. The main part of this uniform was a dress, or smock, which each prisoner wore at all times with no underclothes. On the smock, in front and in back, was his prison ID number. On each prisoner's right ankle was a heavy chain, bolted on and worn at all times. Rubber sandals were the footwear, and each prisoner covered his hair with a stocking cap made from a woman's nylon stocking. -
Surprise Arrest
The Police car swept through the Palo Alto town picking up 9 selected college students who were assigned to be prisoners. They were arrested as part of a mass arrest for violation of Penal Codes 211, Armed Robbery, and Burglary, a 459 PC. The suspect was picked up at his home, charged, warned of his legal rights, spread-eagled against the police car, searched, and handcuffed -- often as surprised and curious neighbors looked on -
Beginning of Rebellion
Because the first day passed without incident, we were surprised and totally unprepared for the rebellion which broke out on the morning of the second day. The prisoners removed their stocking caps, ripped off their numbers, and barricaded themselves inside the cells by putting their beds against the door. -
Reaction of the guards
The guards got a fire extinguisher which shot a stream of skin-chilling carbon dioxide, and they forced the prisoners away from the doors. The guards broke into each cell, stripped the prisoners naked, took the beds out, forced the ringleaders of the prisoner rebellion nto solitaryconfinement, and generally began to harass and intimidate the prisoners. -
Asserting Authority
At 2:30 A.M. the prisoners were rudely awakened from sleep by blasting whistles for the first of many "counts." The counts served the purpose of familiarizing the prisoners with their numbers (counts took place several times each shift and often at night). But more importantly, these events provided a regular occasion for the guards to exercise control over the prisoners. At first, the prisoners were not completely into their roles and did not take the counts too seriously. -
Prisoner 8612
Less than 36 hours into the experiment, Prisoner #8612 began suffering from acute emotional disturbance, disorganized thinking, uncontrollable crying, and rage. In spite of all of this, we had already come to think so much like prison authorities that we thought he was trying to "con" us -- to fool us into releasing him. It took quite a while before we became convinced that he was really suffering and that we had to release him. -
Visits by parents and friends
Parents and friends visited their loved ones in the jail on this day. Before they could meet the prisoner, they were given a set of guidelines to follow to which they remarkedly complied. Some of the parents got upset when they saw how fatigued and distressed their son was. But their reaction was to work within the system to appeal privately to the Superintendent to make conditions better for their boy. -
Rumors
Some of the guards stated that they heard a rumor that the released prisoner was going to come back with his friends and free the remaining inmates. Zimbardo and the guards disassembled the prison and moved it onto a different floor of the building. Zimbardo himself waited in the basement, in case the released prisoner showed up, and planned to tell him that the experiment had been terminated. The released prisoner never returned, and the prison was rebuilt in the original location. -
Guards more aggressive
The guards again escalated very noticeably their level of harassment, increasing the humiliation they made the prisoners suffer, forcing them to do menial, repetitive work such as cleaning out toilet bowls with their bare hands. The guards had prisoners do push-ups, jumping jacks, whatever the guards could think up, and they increased the length of the counts to several hours each. -
Visit by Catholic Priest
At this point, a Catholic priest who had been a prison chaplain to evaluate how realistic our prison situation was, and the result was truly Kafkaesque. The chaplain interviewed each prisoner individually, and half the prisoners introduced themselves by number rather than name -
Prisoner 416
Prisoner No. 416, a newly admitted stand-by prisoner, expressed concern over the treatment of the other prisoners. The guards responded with more abuse. He then went on a hunger strike and put into solidarity and will only be let out only if the majority of remaining prisoners are willing to surrender their blankets; if not, he stays in till day shift. Another guard realises this is wrong and comes up with an excuse to let him out. The prisoners themselves refused #416's actions -
Prisoner 819
819 was the only one who refused to see the priest and wanted to see a doctor instead. The guards lined up the other prisoners and had them chant aloud: "Prisoner #819 is a bad prisoner. Because of what Prisoner #819 did, my cell is a mess, Mr. Correctional Officer." This made #819 want to go back and prove himself to the rest of the prisoners that he wasnt a bad prisoner. -
End of the Stanford Prison Experiment
The study ended prematurely for two reasons. First, they had learned through videotapes that the guards were escalating their abuse of prisoners in the middle of the night when they thought no researchers were watching and the experiment was "off." Their boredom had driven them to ever more pornographic and degrading abuse of the prisoners. Second, Christina Maslach, a recent Stanford Ph.D. strongly objected when she saw our prisoners illtreated. The experiment was over.
