The Stanford Prison Experiment

Mike tells Sarah the complicated story of an over-simplified study. Digressions include Tonya Harding, "The Meg" and Kitty Genovese. The Milgram obedience studies and the "broken windows" theory of policing receive bonus debunkings.

Thanks to Thibault Le Texier for helping us with this episode! Here's his book, "The History of a Lie," and the English-language summary, "Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment."

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Sarah's other show, Why Are Dads
Mike's other show, Maintenance Phase

Links!

• The Original Study
• Philip Zimbardo's "The Lucifer Effect"
• Zimbardo's 1973 NYT article
• David Jaffee’s precursor study at Toyon Hall
• Ben Blum's "The Lifespan of a Lie"
• The Stanford prison experiment in introductory psychology textbooks: A content analysis
• The Real Lesson of the Stanford Prison Experiment
• Revisiting the Stanford Prison Experiment: Could Participant Self-Selection Have Led to the Cruelty?
• Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison: A Methodological Analysis
• The Obedience Alibi: Milgram's Account of the Holocaust Reconsidered
• Obedience in Perspective: Psychology and the Holocaust
• Unchaining the Stanford Prison Experiment: Philip Zimbardo’s famous study falls under scrutiny
• The Secrets of Abu Ghraib Revealed: American Soldiers on Trial