Stanford Prison Experiment

Abstract The Stanford Prison Experiment is considered one of the most infamous social experiments in history for its influence on both social psychology and research ethics. Philip Zimbardo, together with his graduate students, designed a mock prison where participants acted as both prisoners and guards. The goal of the study was to observe the effects of a person's environment on behavior and conformity.

The study, which was to last two weeks, was terminated after only six days because of the high risks of psychological and physical harm of the participants.