The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth

Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

In 1971, Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment with college students to evaluate behavior in a mock prison. Within days, the guards were abusing their power and mistreating the prisoners so badly the study was shut down early. The “Stanford Prison Experiment” was heralded in academia and in pop culture as a landmark study into the corrupting power of authority. But a re-examination of Zimbardo’s methods questions whether he manipulated the subjects into those behaviors, challenging whether its shocking results - and its legacy - should be discredited.

The three-part series “The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth,” is produced by Nat Geo and is available on several streaming services. It unearths Zimbardo’s scientifically dubious methods that steered the study toward its violent conclusion. It also reunites the former guards and prisoners - some for the first time - to explain what was really driving their actions.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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