Dark History · Premium
The basement of evil
In 1971, psychologist Philip Zimbardo set up a simulated prison in the Stanford basement. Twenty-four healthy students were randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners. Within days, the guards became cruel and sadistic, while the prisoners suffered psychological breakdowns. Zimbardo himself lost perspective and failed to stop the experiment, which was terminated after only six days at his girlfriend's insistence. The experiment became famous as a demonstration of "situational evil": unchecked power corrupts anyone. However, later research revealed that Zimbardo had encouraged the guards to be brutal, and some prisoners faked their breakdowns. The experiment remains a powerful but scientifically controversial metaphor for how authority and role-playing can lead to abuse.
Premium story: open the app to listen to it in full.
