The Stanford Prison Experiment
At Stanford University in 1971 the psychologist Philip Zimbardo researched human behavior under the conditions of a prison environment. By a toss of the coin 24 participants are divided into two groups: guards and prisoners. The guards are equipped with uniforms and truncheons. The prisoners wear frocks with numbers and are locked into cells. The guards soon begin to show sadistic behavior. They develop inhuman punishment for the prisoners. Several times the experimenters have to intervene to prevent mistreatment. Four prisoners suffer emotional breakdowns. The experiment has to be interrupted prematurely.
