Psychologist behind the controversial Stanford Prison Experiment has died aged 91 [Video]

FAMED PSYCHOLOGIST PHILIP Zimbardo, known for his controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, has died at the age of 91. 

Zimbardo passed away earlier this week in his home in San Francisco. 

Zimbardo conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment over six days in August, 1971 in the basement of Jordan Hall, a campus space in the prestigious Stanford University in California.

The experiment set out to examine the psychological effects of authority and powerlessness in a prison environment. The psychology professor recruited Stanford students using a local newspaper ad.

Twenty-four students were carefully screened and randomly assigned into groups of prisoners and guards. The experiment, which was scheduled to last one to two weeks, ultimately had to be terminated on only the sixth day as the experiment escalated out of hand when the prisoners were forced to endure cruel and dehumanising abuse at the hands of their peers.

The experiment showed, in Zimbardo’s …