Life in prisons can be brutal and dehumanizing. There is some debate over whether this outcome is attributable to the individual characteristics of the inmates or to the organizational structural characteristics of prisons. A famous experiment was carried out with students at Stanford University to shed light on this debate. Twenty-four male participants were chosen from a group of 75 volunteers based on tests that showed they were the most psychologically stable. The experiment, intended to last two weeks, took place in the basement of the building housing Stanford’s Psychology Department.
Half the participants were assigned to be Prisoners. They were intentionally not told what to expect or how to act, but they were assured they would receive adequate food, clothing, and medical care. On the first day of the experiment, they were “arrested” by the local police department, blindfolded, taken to “prison” in the psych building, and dressed in simple gowns and mandatory nylon caps. The remaining participants were assigned to be Guards, whose assignment was also left deliberately vague: “to maintain a reasonable degree of order within the prison necessary for its effective functioning.” They were given khaki uniforms and symbols of authority, such as silvered sunglasses. The outcome of the experiment was dramatic and unexpected. “Guards” were aggressive and, on at least one occasion, abusive. Within 36 hours, one “prisoner” showed signs of severe psychosomatic disturbance and had to be released. Before the experiment was brought to a premature close, four more prisoners were released for similar reactions. “At the end of only six days, we had to close down our mock prison because what we saw was frightening. It was no longer apparent to most of the subjects (or to us) where reality ended and their roles began. The majority had indeed become prisoners or guards, no longer able to differentiate between role-playing and self. There were dramatic changes in virtually every aspect of their behavior, thinking, and feeling. In less than a week the experience of imprisonment undid (temporarily) a lifetime of learning; human values were suspended, self-concepts were challenged, and the ugliest, most base, pathological side of human nature surfaced.”²³ In short, the results of the Stanford experiment suggested that the characteristics of a place—prison—and the way it is organized can have a great influence on the people inside. It can bring out the worst even in psychologically well-adjusted people. The influence of organizational “places” may be less dramatic in everyday organizations, but it may be every bit as real.²⁴ 

1. How would you have acted if you were a guard?
2. What if you were a prisoner?
3. How do you explain these findings?
4. Are there places, such as classrooms, places of worship, and sports stadiums, in which you act differently than you might at home?
5. What is it about certain places that make you act differently?