Mike tells Sarah the complicated story of an over-simplified study. Digressions include Tonya Harding, "The Meg" and Kitty Genovese. The Milgram obedience studies and the "broken windows" theory of policing receive bonus debunkings.

Thanks to Thibault Le Texier for helping us with this episode! Here's his book, "The History of a Lie," and the English-language summary, "Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment."

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Sarah's other show, Why Are Dads
Mike's other show, Maintenance Phase

Links!

The Original Study
Philip Zimbardo's "The Lucifer Effect"
Zimbardo's 1973 NYT article
David Jaffee’s precursor study at Toyon Hall
Ben Blum's "The Lifespan of a Lie"
The Stanford prison experiment in introductory psychology textbooks: A content analysis
The Real Lesson of the Stanford Prison Experiment
Revisiting the Stanford Prison Experiment: Could Participant Self-Selection Have Led to the Cruelty?
Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison: A Methodological Analysis
The Obedience Alibi: Milgram's Account of the Holocaust Reconsidered
Obedience in Perspective: Psychology and the Holocaust
Unchaining the Stanford Prison Experiment: Philip Zimbardo’s famous study falls under scrutiny
The Secrets of Abu Ghraib Revealed: American Soldiers on Trial

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Unlocked: A Jail Experiment