What We Got Wrong About the Stanford Prison Experiment

Podcast: Behavioral Grooves Podcast · Kurt Nelson, PhD and Tim Houlihan

Opublikowano: 2026-09-28

Have we misunderstood two of psychology’s most famous experiments? We revisit the Stanford Prison Experiment and the Robbers Cave experiment with science historians Thibault Le Texier and Gina Perry, who uncovered a much messier story behind the research we learned about in school. What can these experiments actually tell us about human behavior, and what happens when researchers become more invested in a specific conclusion than challenging their own assumptions? Topics [0:00] Two Famous Experiments, One Bigger Problem [6:47] Part One: The Stanford Prison Experiment [12:26] Were the Guards Coached to Be Cruel? [18:14] Is the Real Le...