Origins of the Stanford Prison Experiment

The transcript discusses how student activism during the Vietnam War inspired Philip Zimbardo to harness student energy for research, leading to the Stanford Prison Experiment. The class was restructured to allow students to choose research topics, resulting in a mock prison experiment that revealed intense emotional experiences, prompting a debrief to understand its impact.

What event in 1971 inspired Philip to explore situational dynamics with his students?

• The end of the Vietnam War

• Student activism against the Vietnam War

• The start of the Cold War

• The Civil Rights Movement

How did the instructor plan to utilize the second half of the social psychology class?

• By inviting guest lecturers

• By allowing students to conduct their own research projects

• By teaching advanced psychology theories

• By focusing on historical case studies

What was one of the topics students could choose to research in the restructured class?

• Why elderly people often die within a year of entering a nursing home

• The psychological effects of solitary confinement

• The impact of social media on youth

• The influence of music on mood

What was a significant emotional outcome of the mock prison experiment conducted by the students?

• The experiment had no emotional impact

• Participants experienced a strong sense of camaraderie

• Students felt more connected to each other

• Some students were in tears and felt betrayed by their peers

What was the instructor's reaction to the emotional impact of the mock prison experiment?

• He decided to cancel future experiments

• He was stunned and organized a debriefing session

• He dismissed the students' feelings

• He encouraged more experiments