Jozlin Diaz-Patterson October 19 November 07, 2011 PCS 101 B: Public Speaking

Weakness within Situation: The Stanford Prison Experiment

General Purpose: To inform about an event Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the Stanford Prison Experiment. Pattern of Organization: Topical Pattern

I. Introduction: On August 17th 1971, there was a rather strange event brewing in Palo Alto, California. Police sirens broke the usual silence of the sleepy town as they searched throughout the area for 12 criminals, all of whom were wanted for the same crimes: Burglary and Armed Robbery. Each man was swiftly located, and subsequently apprehended, at each of their homes. They were all charged and had their Miranda Rights read to them. All of this before being brought to the local police station for processing and finally dropping them off in the newly established Stanford County Prison. Strictly by the book police procedures, right? The situation isn't as simple as it first appears. For one, despite all of the arrests being within the same town in rapid succession, the story was never published in any media outlet, the men who were arrested were all of college age and the prison itself didn't seem to exist on any map of the town. What had just occurred was the first step in one of the most infamous behavioral studies in the field of psychology. The study was called the Stanford Prison Experiment. (SPE) Thesis: I wish to show to you what SPE was, to discuss its findings and explain why the project came to an end and why it is infamous to this day.

(Transition: First, allow me to explain what the project was, and how it started.) II. Body: A) The SPE was a human behavioral experiment that took place in 1971, in which a team of 24 volunteer test subjects acted out in a mock prison scenario. 1. Proposed and headed by Stanford University Psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. 2. Hypothesis: A person's behaviors will change when placed in different situations. i. Quote Philip Zimbardo from The Lucifer Effect: What changes does a person undergo in the process of adapting to [a] new role? Is it possible in the short time of only a few weeks to take on a new identity that is different from one's usual self? 3. Two central roles: Prisoner and Prison Guard. i. The 24 volunteers became either a guard or an inmate. ii.

4. Took place within the basement of Stanford U's Psych. Building. i. Renovations were done in order to look like a real prison.

(Transition: Now that we know what the experiment was, let's talk about its results.) B) Both parties became engrossed in the roles they were assigned, and their behaviors changed dramatically, proving Zimbardo's hypothesis. 1. Guards became sadistic and power-mad. i. dehumanized the prisoners through abusive punishments ii. Quote from Menace Within: [] half the study's participants [The Prisoners] endured cruel and dehumanizing abuse at the hands of their peers. At various times, they were taunted, stripped naked, deprived of sleep and forced to use plastic buckets as toilets.

2. The prisoners became despondent. i. 5 prisoners left the project because of severe pathological behavior ii. Quote from American Scientist: [...] One had to be released because of extreme depression, disorganized thinking, uncontrollable crying and fits of rage. [Afterward] three more prisoners were let go because they exhibited similar symptoms of anxiety. A fifth prisoner was discharged when he developed a psychosomatic rash over his entire body [] C) The SPE is ended prematurely, and is infamous, for two specific reasons. 1. Lack of safety for the volunteers. i. Quote from Nuremberg Code: [An] experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury. ii. Guards inflicted both upon the prisoners without 2. Zimbardo didn't end the project once the results were obtained. i. Prisoners could have suffered more severely if the project continued. ii. Quote from Zimbardo (BBC News): Once a prisoner broke down we had proved the point - that situations can have a powerful impact - so I didn't end it when I should have. III. Conclusion: And so we've reached the end. Hopefully you all have reached a more thorough understanding of the what the SPE and it's findings were, and why it is regarded as infamous. If you have any further interest in the project, I recommend reading Professor Zimbardo's book The Lucifer Effect, which provides an extremely detailed record of the project. Thank you for your time, and have a nice day.

Works Cited:
Zimbardo, Philip G.The Lucifer Effect, Understanding How Good P e o p l e Tu r n E v i l . R a n d o m H o u s e I n c , 2 0 0 9 . P r i n t . Zimbardo, P. G., Maslach, C., & Haney, C. (2000). Reflections on the Stanford Prison Experiment: Genesis, transformations, consequences. Zimbardo, Philip. "Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment Conducted at Stanford U n i v e r s i t y. " N . p . , 2 0 1 1 . We b . 4 N o v 2 0 1 1 . < h t t p : / / w w w. p r i s o n e x p . o r g / > . Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Control Council Law No. 10, Vol. 2, pp. 181-182.. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1949 Ratnesar, Romesh. "The Menace Within." Stanford Magazine. 2011: 1. Web. 4 Nov. 2011. <http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2011/julaug/features/spe.ht ml>. Leithead, Alastair. "Stanford Prison Experiment Continues to Shock."BBC News, San Francisco. 17 August 2011: 1. Web. 5 Nov. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14564182>. Levine, Robert. "The evil that men do." American Scientist 95.5 (2007): 440+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Nov. 2011.