© Shutterstock

Preparation -

Dr. Zimbardo and his team converted the basement of the Stanford psychology building into a mock prison. This would be the setting for their experiment.

© Getty Images 

Preparation -

They put an ad in the newspaper looking for paid volunteers to take part in a study on the psychological effects of prison life. They received 75 responses.

© Getty Images 

Equal footing -

The chosen participants were all healthy young men from similar socio-economic backgrounds and with a good level of intelligence.

© Getty Images 

Division -

They were randomly split into two groups: 10 prisoners and 11 guards.

© NL Beeld

Arrest -

The experiment began with the prisoners being 'arrested' at their homes by real local police. They were taken to the police station and followed all of the procedures of a real arrest.

© Shutterstock

The prisoners - They were then blindfolded and driven to the mock prison. The walls were bare and the doors and windows barred.

© iStock 

The prisoners - The prisoners were all stripped and deloused. They were then given smocks to wear and assigned an ID number.

© NL Beeld

Dehumanization -

They would only be referred to by their ID number going forward, and also had to refer to themselves and other prisoners by ID numbers instead of names.

© Getty Images 

Disconnection -

The guards all wore identical uniforms and dark sunglasses to prevent eye contact.

© Shutterstock

Replication -

These details were chosen to produce the feelings of humiliation and anonymity experienced by real prisoners, even though they do not represent real prison policies.

© Reuters

The guards -

The guards worked eight hour shifts, three at a time. They had whistles and billy clubs and were told to do whatever was necessary to maintain order.

© Shutterstock

Minimal interference -

Dr. Zimbardo acted as warden, but mainly sat back to watch events unfold.

© Getty Images 

Counts -

The guards began to assert their dominance through 'counts.' They woke the prisoners up with whistles at 2:30 am and made them stand against the wall. This would be repeated at regular intervals to give the guards frequent opportunities for interaction with the prisoners.

© Shutterstock

Punishments begin -

If the guards felt the prisoners were being disrespectful, they made them do push-ups, sometimes with a guard or fellow prisoner standing on their backs.

© Getty Images 

Mounting intimidation -

The prisoners were forced to do meaningless tasks and were frequently insulted and demoralized by the guards.

© Getty Images 

Waning defiance -

The prisoners were generally submissive and took the rules very seriously. They would even express anger towards fellow prisoners who broke the rules and sometimes sided with the guards.

© NL Beeld

Rebellion - It was a surprise when the prisoners rebelled on the second day. They took off their smocks and barricaded themselves in their cells by pushing the beds against the door, taunting the guards through the bars.

© NL Beeld

Guard response -

The guards were angry and frustrated, and decided to call in reinforcements. Off-duty guards were called in and they sprayed the prisoners with fire extinguishers before breaking down the doors.

© Shutterstock

Aftermath -

The relationships between the guards and prisoners changed after this point. The guards became more derisive and openly contemptuous of the prisoners, and the prisoners became more submissive and down-trodden.

© Shutterstock

Change in tactics - This was the point when the guards came up with the idea of using psychological tactics instead of physical ones.

© iStock 

Privileges -

They began treating the prisoners' basic rights such as eating, brushing their teeth, or using the bathroom as 'privileges,' which could be given or taken away depending on their behavior.

© Shutterstock

Humiliation -

They forced the prisoners to use a bucket as a toilet and refused to let them empty it, further adding to the degradation and harassment.

© Getty Images 

Manipulation - The ringleaders of the rebellion had their privileges taken away, while the others were allowed to eat special food in front of them. This killed the solidarity between the prisoners.

© NL Beeld

Manipulation -

Later on, they suddenly switched the roles and gave badly behaved prisoners privileges. This created the impression that they were being rewarded for informing on their fellow prisoners, even though this wasn't the case.

© Shutterstock

Starting to crack -

When one prisoner had a mental breakdown and was taken out of the prison to rest in a room nearby, the guards made the remaining prisoners chant loudly that he was a 'bad prisoner.'

© Shutterstock

Starting to crack -

Dr. Zimbardo urged the distressed man to quit the experiment but he refused, saying he couldn't leave because his cellmates thought badly of him.

© Shutterstock

Loss of reality -

The doctor had to remind him that he was not a prisoner and that he was not in a real prison. The man who had been crying uncontrollably suddenly changed his demeanor and agreed to leave.

© Shutterstock

The end -

Multiple prisoners had similar breakdowns where they began crying and screaming. The experiment was supposed to run for two weeks, but Dr. Zimbardo ended it on the sixth day.

© Shutterstock

Conclusions -

The sadism and aggression that the guards displayed within a matter of days was shocking to Dr. Zimbardo and his team. The escalation of the abuse and psychological distress of the prisoners was unprecedented.

© Shutterstock

Conclusions -

The researchers spotted several similarities between the behavior of the guards and the reported behavior of Nazi officers who guarded concentration camps.

© Getty Images 

Conclusions -

Dr. Zimbardo drew the conclusion that human beings readily conform to social roles they are expected to play, particularly roles that are strongly stereotyped like that of a prison guard.

© Getty Images 

Conclusions -

If we apply the findings of this experiment to other situations, it may help us to understand the growing epidemic of police brutality.

© Getty Images 

Conclusions -

This experiment, along with many other events in history, show how susceptible ordinary people are to the power of situations and systems.

© Shutterstock

Conclusions - It's scary to think that we are not entirely in control of ourselves. A greater awareness of our potential to be influenced in this manner can help us all to stay on track.

© Shutterstock

Conclusions -

The real lesson learned from this experiment and escalating police brutality may be that there is an urgent need for reform within the criminal justice system.

© NL Beeld

See also -

Follow this link to find out everyday products you didn't know where produced by using prison labour. 

© Getty Images