Zimbardo's prison experiment

prisoners or guards. Volunteers would be paid $15 a day during the study. The prisoners were ‘arrested’ at their homes and, after being initially processed by the police, handed over to the guards. From then they were to by their number only, their toilet visits were supervised, they were assigned work shifts and they were lined up three times a day for a count. There were three ‘guards’ who wore khaki skirts and trousers, dark glasses and carried wooden batons. The guards were permitted to devise most rules (though no psychical aggression was allowed) conformed to their perceived roles. Although Zimbardo intended the study to last for two weeks, he had to abandon the study after six days. This is because the guards continually harassed and humiliated the prisoners. Some guards behaved in a brutal and sadistic manner. The prisoners initially revolted, but became increasingly passive. Some prisoners had to be released from the study before its conclusion because they showed symptoms of severe emotional disturbance. Criticisms Savin believed that ‘the ends did not justify the means’ in this study. Even though the study has had a great deal of impact on the way in which prisons (and mental institutions) are run and the film of the study is used in the training of prison officers. The reality of this study contributed greatly to the distress experienced by participants. Zimbardo claimed that studies as this are criticized because the ‘open our eyes’ to the possibilities that all of us are capable of conformity to destructive social roles.