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The Stanford Prison Experiment

In 1971, social psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who was also a professor emeritus at California’s Stanford University, used funding from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to conduct an experiment in which groups of college students became either prisoners or guards in a simulated prison environment. Zimbardo acted as the warden.

The stated intent of the study was to measure the effect of role-playing, labeling and social expectations on individual behavior.

Zimbardo decided to run the experiment during the university’s summer break, while the campus was relatively empty. His graduate students crudely converted the basement level of one of the school’s halls into a makeshift prison. Empty offices were turned into prison cells and outfitted with cots. Hallways were outfitted with hidden CCTV cameras. A closet was turned into a solitary confinement chamber.

The following slides, from Dr. Zimbardo himself, quickly and succinctly summarize the Stanford Prison Experiment. For those interested in this topic, there’s a fairly good movie by the same name that came out in 2015. It’s not difficult to find online.

Stanford Prison Study

Volunteering for the Experiment • College students answered a newspaper ad asking for volunteers in a study of the psychol...

Arguably, the Covid-1984 lockdowns are voluntary — in the interest of the “greater good.” The Stanford volunteers were also told their participation was essential in the prison research experiment, an experiment that was in the interest of the “greater good.”

The Arrest • On a quiet Sunday morning in August, a police car swept through the town picking up college students as part ...

Similarly, our lockdowns come suddenly, without warning, and no actual crime has been committed.

Constructing the Experiment • The prison was constructed by boarding up each end of a corridor in the basement of Stanford...

Obviously, like these students, we’re not in an actual prison, but we are indeed imprisoned. Will gruesome Newsom’s next step be ankle bracelets perhaps? The state has just launched a Covid tracking app that it’s encouraging everyone to install on their cell phone.

In the Cells • The experiment began with nine guards and nine prisoners in the jail. Three guards worked each of three eig...

Of course, if you live in a mansion, then stay-at-home orders are like a vacation. For others, however, a university basement might be preferable to their home environment, especially for spouses and children who experience domestic abuse.

Humiliation • The prisoner was then issued a uniform. The main part of this uniform was a dress, or smock, which each pris...

Becoming a Prisoner • The chain on their foot was used in order to remind prisoners of the oppressiveness of their environ...

The masks we must wear are a constant reminder of our situation. People are also easier to abuse when they’re anonymous. For some people, the inability to get a haircut or other grooming services is a form of humiliation.

“When you tell people to be cruel, they’ll do it, if it’s for the greater good,” a Stanford Prison Experiment guard said in an interview, “especially if the person you’re inflicting it on is anonymous.”

Enforcing the Law • The guards were free, within limits, to do whatever they thought was necessary to maintain law and ord...

In our situation, it’s like the federal government is the warden, providing guidance, and the guards are the state governors, who have been given free reign to manage the states as they see fit. There are “good” governors and abusive ones.

Asserting Authority • At 2:30 A.M. prisoners were awakened from sleep by blasting whistles for the first of many "counts."...

Physical Punishment • Push-ups were a common form of physical punishment imposed by the guards, for infractions of the rul...

Student “prisoners” were often blindfolded to impose a sense of helplessness. We don’t need blindfolds because our threat is an invisible virus. To protect us from this invisible threat, we — in California — are given seemingly and increasingly arbitrary rules to follow. Restrictions on small businesses in particular have been quite arbitrary and punitive, with rules changing week by week as owners hop from one foot to the next trying to comply.

Asserting Independence • Because the first day passed without incident, the guards were surprised and totally unprepared f...
During our first wave of federal lockdowns, we, too, were quite compliant. The second federal lockdown created a little bit of pushback. When states, such as California, tried continuing the lockdowns, there were protests. Then we were told to wear masks.

Putting Down the Rebellion • The guards called in reinforcements. The three guards who were waiting on stand-by duty came ...

Consequences of Rebellion • The prisoners' rebellion played an important role in producing greater solidarity among the gu...

How many people have been arrested and imprisoned for violating Covid restrictions? Has anyone been counting or done a study thus far?

Special Privileges • One of the three cells was designated as a "privilege cell." The three prisoners least involved in th...

Who, during our lockdowns, has been granted special privileges? “Essential workers,” “essential businesses,” the political class and their minions, and billionaires.

Prisoner #8612 • Less than 36 hours into the experiment, Prisoner #8612 began suffering from acute emotional disturbance, ...

There has been a three-fold increase in the number of people suffering from anxiety and depression during the Covid lockdowns. The suicide rate has increased up to an estimated 145% thus far.

A Visit from Parents • The next day, they held a visiting hour for parents and friends. They were worried that when the pa...

By giving prisoners a visiting day, Stanford experimenters further tormented their captives by reminding them what normal is, and enhanced their longing to escape their circumstances. Similarly, during the scamdemic tyranny, we’ve been afforded short breaks to experience almost-normal life. For a brief time, small businesses were allowed to open with expensive modifications. Patrons could dine indoors or go to a show or the gym. And then — suddenly — our almost normal life is ripped away yet again, and again, and again.

Stepping Things Up • After the visit, rumor spread of a mass escape plan. Afraid that they would lose the prisoners, the g...

A guard involved in the experiment later commented that he came to the job every day asking himself, “How can we ramp up what we did yesterday?” He added, “I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. I even got off on it a little bit.”

Another said, “I don’t see where it was really harmful. … I wanted to see how much abuse people would take – how much abuse they would let me give — and still people didn’t say anything.”

With each new lockdown comes new restrictions.

An Informant in the Prison • The guards had become so immersed in the simulation they started getting paranoid. In an atte...

Falling Further From Reality • Zimbardo invited a Catholic priest who had been a prison chaplain to evaluate how realistic...

Prisoner #819 • The only prisoner who did not want to speak to the priest was Prisoner #819, who was feeling sick, had ref...

Prisoner #819 • While this was going on, one of the guards lined up the other prisoners and had them chant aloud: • "Priso...

Look at the way the news media and social media shames, torments and censors those who don’t comply with Covid restrictions.

Back to Reality • At that point, Zimbardo said, "Listen, you are not #819. You are [his name], and my name is Dr. Zimbardo...

The same thing happened with Covid. The plebs were essentially told “this is not a real prison” and life can go back to normal now. And people just say “okay” and go about their lives like nothing happened. I’m not so sure.

An End to the Experiment • Christina Maslach, a recent Stanford Ph.D. brought in to conduct interviews with the guards and...

Has anyone in a position of authority — ANYONE — effectively argued the morality of keeping children out of school, locking people up in their homes and taking away their livelihood over a virus that’s treatable for 99.97% of the population?


“Don’t ever come between a man and his meal. Taking a man’s livelihood away from him is akin to killing him.” — David Chappelle


In the End • “By the end of the study, the prisoners were disintegrated, both as a group and as individuals. There was no ...

The two-week Stanford Prison Experiment was brought to a halt after just six days.

Plenty has been written and observed about the impact of lockdowns on prisoners. What made the Stanford experiment a little different was that it looked psychological transformation of those who were doing the imprisoning. It concluded that the sadistic treatment of prisoners by guards was due to three key things: prisoner anonymity, depersonalization and power.

Dr. Zimbardo later went on to write about his findings in a book called “The Lucifer Effect,” and his study was used to explain the sadistic treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.


Read “The Biderman Report of 1956 and Covid-1984: Methods for Eliciting Individual Compliance”

Torchy Takeaway

Have we, like the Stanford students, forgotten that we have free will? Going along to get along does nothing more than continually reinforce the power of authoritarians, who will become increasingly abusive.

The members of a small community in northern California joined together and decided to give the finger to gruesome Newsom. They’re keeping all of their businesses open, even indoor dining. They’ve vowed as a community to fight any infringements on their rights. So far, there has been no consequence.

So the question is this: How long will you continue to participate in the Covid Prison Experiment?

30 Comments on The Stanford Prison Experiment

  1. “The members of a small community in northern California joined together and decided to give the finger to gruesome Newsom. They’re keep all of their businesses open, even indoor dining. They’ve vowed as a community to fight any infringements on their rights. So far, there has been no consequence.”

    We have our own problems with our own tyrannical little Hitleresque Democrat Gov in New Mexico. We too had a small community of people and city council members who said enough is enough and voted to re-open the city. Maybe you’ve heard of the community, as they have a long history of dealing with foreign invaders. God bless all those in Roswell with the courage and fortitude to do the right thing. Here’s hoping more communities will follow suit, as it is our only hope.
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/nm-city-council-bucks-dem-governor-votes-to-reopen-no-evidence-lockdowns-beat-virus

    P.S. Great exposé on the Stanford Prison Experiment Trochy. It really exposed how malleable human beings are.

    • Johnny Walker Red, you are welcome (if you so desire to leave wherever you are in NM) to move to my neck of the woods…far west Texas, where mask wearing is usually not obligatory (not talking El Paso here, I mean rural remote and small town far west Texas, except for Marfa–too libtard and artsy-fartsy), and I don’t think anyone enforces social distancing and most businesses and restaurants are open for the most part, including indoor dining. And I really hate it that out-of-staters like me can’t visit NM state parks…we’ve been to a few. Love Elephant Butte area….

    • Your hitleresque governor

      Not your shabboth goy govener

      Is this turning into a fuggin boomer trump left over conversion

      Jfc

      It’s THE JEWS
      NOT HITLER
      NOT NAZIS
      NOT FACISM

      THE JEWS

      people

  2. I see another writer this morning calling for “mass dissent and civil disobedience” – our host asks “how long will you continue” obedience and references the dissent of a “small community” – another “small community” in a neighboring state is referenced.

    Problem is, out here in blue state suburbs, persons I approach in the open air or the privacy of an office tend to run away from me – literally in may cases; or clap their hands to indicate social distancing violations (was that technique promoted by the media?) …

    I just might move to small community (could I find one where a substantial portion of the populace were not pain med zombies?). But for now, how do I start to coalesce with even, say, five persons to initiate mass dissent? I don’t have a clue.

    Given that, I see no point in going into grocery stores maskless and creating shouting scenes with my neighbors (i.e. persons who live proximate to me). So, I occasionally destroy social distance and mask signage … pathetic!

    • Dissent only works collectively, sadly. On an individual level, you invite people to abuse you.

      I’ll be going to one of the restaurants that’s open in that little community this weekend and will do my shopping in their stores. It’s a bit of a drive, but I want to show support where I can.

      • KOBK,

        I’m glad that guy got tuned-up as well! Mind your own business bitch! There are many who would look at this situation and say it is ‘going too far.’ Screw that! We need more people to assert themselves in this maddening world. This scamdemic has created a whole army of order-following mini-tyrants who are all up in peoples business!

      • That nasally shitlib voice is the most irritating voice I have ever heard. Never has a more righteous ass kicking been delivered.

        That informeller Mitarbeiter and his kind has caused the death of millions by proxy.

    • Same here. Nevertheless, little goofy things like poking nostril holes in the mask & restating responses to c19 believer dogma in communist/ totalitarian terms is better than nothing!

  3. I just want all the perps literally dead at this point.

    Not much more to add really.

    When are we gettin’ real about this folks ?

  4. Torchy,

    Great work, excellent thread and well appreciated!

    To my knowledge, Governor Newsom has also given a “hall pass” to Hollywood, in which the entire industry was deemed “essential” and is free from many of the onerous regulations.

    In Britain, wealthy individuals who have traveled abroad for Christmas are exempt from quarantine upon their arrival home (others must quarantine), and originally the average English citizen was not permitted to travel unless (no my friend, I am not kidding here) they were traveling to Switzerland for an assisted suicide (as assisted suicide is not permitted in England, but if you wish to go abroad and kill yourself, have at it).

    As it is Saturday, I do not feel like linking at the moment; however, the information is out there if anyone is interested. Also, there is much more; however, yet again, I am just going to hold on the links for today. The inconsistencies are astounding. In one area, Conjob-19 comes out at 7:01 PM, while in another it is 10:01 PM. This is the smartest Conjob I have ever heard of in my life. It knows exactly which time to strike, even in different time zones and nations.

    Yet, where is our fearless leader in all of this? I realize the most of the Orange People of midtown and the upper east side of Manhattan like to really “turn on the glow” in the months from November to mid April, but I would appreciate if he could take a little time between sprays to actually do a little something to stabilize the nation and combat this insanity.

    It is one thing to restore state’s rights and not go heavy handed with federal action; it is quite another to permit the arrest and enslavement of your nation’s population. Heck just use the Commerce Clause and begin opening up the entire nation. They have used this clause for so much illegal, federal, overreach that one could opine it would be fine to use it for good just this one time. Where is this 4D / 5D chess master, and what is his grand plan???

    Oh well, I shall end on an upbeat note. Torchy, I hope your shopping proceeds smoothly, and without issue. Also, I shall wish you Happy Holidays (as I do not know your background — if you celebrate Christmas, then I also wish you a very Merry Christmas!)!

    Best and thank you for this thread,
    Simple Citizen

  5. OKAY, OKAY – JUST ONE LINK THAT I COULD NOT OVERLOOK FOR THIS THREAD; I PROMISE THAT I JUST SW IT AFTER I LEFT WW.

    So I think the family and I will be moving to Wuhan. Seems everyone there is having a blast, while we are all made to suffer:

    https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/one-night-in-wuhan-covid-19s-original-epicentre-re-learns-how-to-party

    By the way, should I get all WOKE and discuss how the title of the article, “One Night in Wuhan…” is racist because it evokes that horrible 80s song, “One Night in Bangkok”? Nah, just isn’t me.

    Everyone, please be well, and have a good weekend.

    Best,
    S.C.

  6. A separate data point about ‘the family’s’ Getty/Newsom autocracy.

    California has half the homeless people in the USA with many immigrant transients due to climate, a tolerant legal system and other states giving trouble makers a one way bus ticket to San Francisco or LA.

    The Feds gave California C19 disaster relief funds in the spring and on June 30 AB83 was first introduced as a California bill that was completely blank except for this sentence: “It is the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2019” to spend monies made available by the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund to California. It was passed, blank, by the Assembly in April. In late June, the blank bill was amended into a bill related to homeless housing.
    https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB83

    AB83 was then christened ‘Project Homekey’, with Newsom taking money intended for broad disaster relief and funneling it into (mostly Sikh Indian) owned hotel and motel purchases. Any sites receiving funds are exempt from local permitting requirements, or any sort of oversight or public disclosure. The result has been well over a half billion dollars of hotel purchases, often at way over assessed value to convert the tiny rooms into ‘homes’.

    Getty county official assets were encouraged to self select properties, apply for funds and negotiate purchase with no interaction or information given to local populations. this is eseentially undemocratic/fascist requisition and commandeering of property, with that property then becoming owned by the county and with no local jurisdictions applying.

    The situation many California cities are in now is a vast expansion of the homeless industrial ‘non profit’ complex, with neighbors and local small businesses relying on tourists and travellers staying at local hotels suddenly finding the hotel is sold and they now live next to a homeless compound.

    A typical scenario is a 30-40 room hotel being bought for 12-20 million and ‘covid vulnerable’ moved in fast before end of 2020. The huge flaw in the logic is reality: there are tens of thousands of indigents, substance abuse burn outs and the mentally ill on the streets – three distinct groups with very different needs. Some of these people are a threat to broader society.

    Newsom/Getty is essentially creating a media Potemkin Village of formerly ‘homeless’ care in these locations for maybe 40-50 ‘home’ owners, who are free to leave their commandeered compound to go shopping at Target before motoring home for their free meals, art walls, bingo sessions despite supposedly being life threateningly ill in some cases, with security guards protecting them from the homeless people and local citizens outside the castle walls.

    To any sane person the money should be sent on scale solutions, especially given the tidal wave of evictions and repossessions that are now occurring in California.
    https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-risk-of-eviction-and-foreclosure-in-u-s-states/

    IMO C19 is a very nasty man made virus that attacks lungs and kidneys, as thoroughly documented by many specialists who have deconstructed it. Quarantine and caution is essential, with people in poor health most at risk – iv drug users etc. While California city inhabitants are scuttling around in masks there are huge numbers of homeless out in the rain and frost, spreading the virus around, sleeping on outdoor restaurant tables, doorways and in the parking space ‘parklets’ restaurants have been forced to build.

    I could go on bu meanwhile Newsom is on Twitter constantly, with hokey selfie video of himself braying about science, wearing masks, getting excited about vaccines and generally going full Hollywood with absurd gesturing and clumsy acting. He actually looks insane at times. This is the guy the DNC want to run as VP with Harris as president in 2024.

    • A point I forgot to add. There is scant evidence C19 exists, but there may well have been some other deadly virus released. C19 may be a red herring. Why is Whuhan and China apparently pretty much back to normal at least on a social interaction level?

    • It is not fascist commandeering private property

      It is communist Jews and their Shabboth Goy

      Pleaser learn what fascism was

      It is the anthesis of what your seeing now

      And you sound really confused bitching to actual fascist about what Jews are doing

      This is not info wars WE NAME THE JEW

  7. Love the Newsom pix straight outta South Park…there are times I miss Cartman, but we got rid of TV years ago (and our actual TV no longer works…it’s 45 years old!)

    This sort of nonsense is just another reason out of so many,but in 2020 it’s the biggest reason, I thank God I live in a rural remote subdivision where none of this garbage is practiced en masse…if someone wants to wear a mask (and there are a few that do…they’re all scared crapless since they have COPD and stuff like that) or socially distance that’s up to them, but nobody enforces that out here. A flee-market-type event was cancelled in November though because the organizers figured few would show up (it was to aid the local fire dept.) after one of the folks in the group tested positive for covid.

    Folks need to wake up and stop being “tested”! The “tests” (according to inventor Kary Mullis) are worthless!

  8. I had to stop reading when he mentioned pneumonia. Doesn’t he realize that pneumonia is outdated? It doesn’t exist any more. Any disease that anybody has is unimportant. All that counts is to know that anybody who dies necessarily dies of covid19.

    A “virus” which has never been proven to exist.

    To control the people, everything they believe must be false.

    William Casey said it best (if you can believe those mean people who saw him as other than a humanitarian) “When everything they believe is false, our work will be done”.

  9. I saw the writing on the wall last November and never complied with any of this mask bullshit. At first I was in the Fort Detrick containment breach theory camp, then I realized there is absolutely no “virus” whatsoever.

    But, it has required nothing less than the cooperation of every single government and media outlet across the entire world.

    I’ve etched Solzhenitsyn words into my spirit:

    “The simple step of the simple courageous man is to not take part in the lie, not to support deceit… Let the lie come into the world, let it even dominate the world, but not through me.”

  10. I think the state of California is about to get even more of a rude awakening into just how corrupt things are now moving in our world! I believe there is enough momentum and there are enough people behind a Gavin Newsome recall, that is,…IF,… everything is followed by the rules! There is no way they are going to let Newsome be removed I don’t believe. Why? He is doing their bidding! Bolshevism is starting to manifest itself more and more now!

  11. I refuse to participate at all

    I’m supposedly living in the middle of the worst pandemic ever
    5 blocks from an empty hospital that MSM said was overflowing

    In a city of 10 million with a pandemic that’s a joke .. yes .. that city

    And they all wear their masks

    Except me
    No mask in the super market, none in Lyft, none of vacation, none on the train.. I refuse!
    And the sheep won’t say a word. Some get that bulgy eyed “ you’re a bad prisoner look” and I laugh in only a way I can, with that white privilege tagged into it, and keep going!

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