A victim of the Stanford Prison Experiment has recalled how he had to fake a mental breakdown in an isolated cell in a desperate last-ditch attempt to be freed from the infamous scientific study – after being stripped naked and tied to another prisoner.
Doug Korpi was one of the 24 participants of Professor Philip Zimbardo’s notorious 1971 experiment, which set out to examine the effects of a prison environment on the psyche.
Known as Prisoner #8612, Doug claims he had no other option but to fake ‘crazy’ in a bid to get out of the trial after Zimbardo refused to for his own self-serving interest to ‘make history.’
His mission to get out of the project came after he was beaten by prison guards, stripped naked, and chained to another inmate.
Speaking in National Geographic’s new three-part series, The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking The Truth, Doug recalled he was forced to take matters into his own hands after trying to initially get out with a stomach ache.
Doug Korpi recalled how he had to fake a mental breakdown in a last-ditch attempt to be freed from the Stanford Prison Experiment
Doug was one of the 24 participants of Professor Philip Zimbardo’s notorious 1971 experiment
He said: ‘I thought this was a bad job, these people won’t let me out, so I’ve got to be creative.
‘So, I said I had a tummy ache, because I thought that would get me out, so they pulled me in the back.
‘Zimbardo said, “Doug, you can’t leave, history is being made.”
‘When I came out of that room, I had the definite impression that I could not leave the experiment.’
Doug, who was just 22 at the time, was then placed into a solitary confinement cell which was nicknamed ‘the hole.’
It was there where he decided to put on an ‘act’ to get out.
He recalled: ‘I was in this closet, on my side lying down in the dark and I remember being like, “Oh s***, I can’t get out of this experiment.”
‘Somebody had control of my life. I was in this emotional state, and then I got desperate.’
Doug said realized he was trapped in the experiment after being locked in solitary confinement – so took matters into his own hands
He continued: ‘I had to be creative and that’s when I decided I had to act like I was crazy. You don’t just sit and be upset, you have to act upset, and I was acting agitated.
‘It was a lot of work.’
During his dramatic breakdown, Doug repeatedly screamed: ‘I want out, I want out.’
In 2018, Zimbardo said allegations that an inmate faked psychological stress were false.
The scientist instead claimed that Doug had been ‘ashamed’ of having a breakdown.
‘Retrospectively now, he’s ashamed of having broken down,’ Zimbardo said. ‘He is the least reliable source of any information about the study.’
Zimbardo died at home in San Francisco on October 14, 2024, at the age of 91.
Reflecting on his time in the experiment, Doug voiced anger towards Zimbardo for using him.
The 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most famous psychological studies of all time
Students were randomly assigned to be either guards or prisoners within a mock prison
WHAT WAS THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT?
The 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most famous psychological studies of all time.
Run by psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo, the study explored the destructive behaviour of groups of men over an extended period.
Students were randomly assigned to be either guards or prisoners within a mock prison constructed in the Stanford Psychology Department.
The objective was to observe the interaction within and between the two groups in the absence of an obviously malevolent authority.
The 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most famous psychology studies of all time. Students were randomly assigned to be either guards (pictured) or prisoners within a mock prison constructed in the Stanford Psychology Department
The results proved shocking, with the abuse handed out to the prisoners by the guards so brutal that the study had to be terminated after just six days.
Despite its status as one of the most influential psychology studies ever published, the Stanford prison experiment has come under much criticism.
Several attempts to replicate the study have yielded disparate results, leading some scientists to suggest the study was faked.
In June 2018, author and scientist Dr Ben Blum interviewed participants of the 1971 research, and uncovered recordings of its author, Professor Zimbardo.
Dr Blum said the experiment’s guards were trained to act cruelly to their subordinates, while one prisoner admitted to faking a fit of madness.
Professor Zimbardo said allegations that an inmate faked psychological stress were false
The new three-part documentary premieres November 13 on National Geographic and will be available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu
Speaking in the documentary, he said: ‘I blamed Zimbardo on doing the experiment on me. It was a horrible job and Zimbardo was the perpetrator, I was a victim.
‘Zimbardo would say he was getting the job done for the greater good, the problem is he doesn’t care who he hurts along the way.’
The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking The Truth reveals never-before-heard stories and exclusive firsthand accounts from the original participants.
‘For the first time ever, many of the guards and prisoners who lived through this intense psychological trial break their silence, recounting their experiences in powerful, emotional, and sometimes humorous interviews,’ the synopsis teases.
‘With a treasure trove of new archival material, the series re-examines this infamous event through a fresh lens, offering a thought-provoking exploration of how power, control, and identity shape us all.’
