Stanford Prison Experiment

4 Pages 1054 Words

Stanford Prison Experiment


1. The nine men who were assigned to be prisoners were treated as if they were truly criminals. They were taken from their homes, shoved against police cars, searched, cuffed and processed. Since they were being treated like they were true criminals, they began to believe it. Upon arrival at Stanford County Jail, the men were issued a number they were called by instead of their name. The prison guards used this number and a whistle to get the attention of a prisoner. The prisoners were made to strip while the guards disinfected them from germs or lice. They were also forced to shave their heads. By doing this, it took away the prisoners individualism and made all the prisoners look alike. Each prisoner wore a long smock, which resembles a dress, to humiliate them and a steel chain around their ankle so they would be constantly aware they were someone’s property.
2. The guards gained submission from the prisoners by harassing them and forcing them to wake up in the middle of the night and do push ups. While the prisoners were doing push ups, the guards would place their foot on a prisoners back to make it harder on them, or make a fellow prisoner sit on their back. On the second day of observation, the prisoners took their stocking caps off, ripped their numbers, and pushed their beds against the cell doors. The guards regained control of the prison by spraying the men down with fire extinguishers. The men were then stripped naked and their beds were taken from them.
3. The hostility between the guards and prisoners developed at the beginning of the study because the prisoners were ordered around and harassed by men who didn’t even have enough respect to call them by their name. They were only referred to as a number. I suppose the prisoners became resentful that they were stuck in the position they were, while the guards were not being told what to do and they could do whatever...