The Experiment
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The Experiment was a reality television programme broadcast on BBC television in 2002.
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[edit] Background
The genesis of the programme was the 1971 Stanford prison experiment carried out by Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University, in which a group of students were recruited to perform the roles of 'prisoner' and 'guard' as a psychological experiment to test how human beings conform to roles. This itself was related to the Milgram experiment at Yale University in 1963.
The BBC Experiment was led by psychologists Dr Alex Haslam (University of Exeter) and Dr Steve Reicher (University of St Andrews) who planned and designed the psychological experiment with the series' executive producer Nick Mirsky and producer Gabby Koppel of the BBC.
[edit] Ethical Considerations
In order to guard against psychological damage to participants, who were selected via advertisements in Sunday newspapers, the BBC appointed an Ethics Committee, chaired by Lembit Öpik MP. Members of this Committee included Dr Stephen Smith of the Beth Shalom Centre, and Steven Taylor, a prison reform campaigner.
The Ethics Committee was given the power to stop The Experiment at any time if a majority of the six members felt that participants were coming to psychological or other harm. This was the first time that the BBC had given such power to an external, independent body. This power was used when The Experiment was brought to an end two days earlier than planned, after consultation with Haslam and Reicher.
[edit] Production & Broadcast
Filmed at Elstree Studios in December 2001, the four one-hour programmes were broadcast on 14th, 15th, 21st and 22nd May 2002.
[edit] Controversy
The series courted controversy, and was criticised by Philip Zimbardo who said that his original experiment did not need repeating. Other critics claimed that The Experiment was simply reality television and that it had no actual scientific base or value, as participants would be playing for the cameras and not acting 'normally'.
