Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 6 · id influence-c6-06-the-stanford-prison-experiment
“The Stanford Prison Experiment showed that randomly assigned 'guards' spontaneously became cruel, demonstrating that situational forces override individual personality.”
TRUE, BUTconfidence: high⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending
Receipts
Le Texier (2019), Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment, American Psychologist 74(7)DOI registry: valid
Guards were given precise instructions. An assistant was recorded saying: 'We really want to get you active... every guard is going to be what we call a tough guard.' Behavior was not spontaneous.
Haslam & Reicher (2012), Contesting the SPE, British Journal of Social PsychologyDOI registry: valid
The BBC Prison Study, where guards received no instructions, produced contradicting results. Guards did not spontaneously become cruel.
This claim is a stable, citable object. If you can falsify a verdict, tell us. Corrections are loud here.