The
Stanford prison experiment (
SPE) was a study of the
psychological effects of becoming a
prisoner or
prison guard. The experiment was conducted at
Stanford University on August 14–20, 1971, by a team of researchers led by psychology professor
Philip Zimbardo using college students. It was funded by the
U.S. Office of Naval Research and was of interest to both the
U.S. Navy and
Marine Corps as an investigation into the causes of conflict between military guards and prisoners. The experiment is a classic study on the psychology of imprisonment and is a topic covered in most introductory psychology textbooks.