“Anybody can be a guard. It’s harder to be on guard against the impulse to be sadistic, cause it’s a quiet rage.” The quiet Sunday morning of August 14, 1971, was broken by the wail of sirens as the Palo Alto, California police swept through town arresting nine people. The suspects were handcuffed, read their rights and subjected to the degradation of the booking process after being transported to the Stanford County Prison (SCP). So began the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE), one of the most important psychology experiments in this country’s history.... - [More]

Posted: April 21, 2012 in Documentary

What suspects had done was to answer a local newspaper ad calling for volunteers in a study of the psychological effects of prison life. We wanted to see what the psychological effects were of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. To do this, we decided to set up a simulated prison and then carefully note the effects of this institution on the behavior of all those within its walls.... - [More]

Posted: January 7, 2011 in Documentary