On a quiet Sunday in August 1971, the police came to the homes of nine young men, "arrested" them, took them in handcuffs to the police station to be booked, blindfolded them, and delivered them to a make-believe "prison" that had been constructed out of plywood and cardboard in the basement of the Stanford University psychology building. The prison had cells, a "hole" (a closet), and a central hallway. The prisoners were stripped, showered, and put into prison garb. The guards-also students--were given smart uniforms and night sticks. They were told that their job was to maintain order in the prison.

The prisoners and guards had been recruited through an advertisement that appeared in the Palo Alto Times (California) asking for volunteers for an experiment on prison life. They were to be paid $15 a day for two weeks. Seventy young men, mostly college students, had volunteered. After interviews and psychological test, twenty-four were chosen. Some were assigned the role of guard and some were assigned the role of prisoner-the assignment was random, so no one knew which they would be.

Video Introduction by Dr. Zimbardo In this clip, Dr. Zimbardo describes his goals in conducting the experiment, how he build the "prison", recruited volunteers, and randomly assigned them as prisoners and guards

The experiment was conducted by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist who wanted to study what happened when people were assigned roles and put in an unfamiliar environment.

Dr. Zimbardo had his staff film the entire experiment but it wasn't until twenty years later that he created a documentary about it. He called it "Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Experiment." The clips that follow are taken from that video. Dr. Zimbardo is the narrator, and you will also hear the former prisoners and guards talk about their experiences.

Although the experiment was supposed to last for two weeks, Dr. Zimbardo had to end it after six days. As you listen to the prisoners and guards, think about why.