The Stanford Prison experiment was a dramatic simulation of prison life conducted in the summer of 1971 at Stanford University by psychologists Craif Haney, Curtis Banks and Philip Zimbardo. The planned 2-week investigation had to be ended prematurely after only 6 days because of what the situation was doing to participating college students. In only a few days, the guards became sadistic and the prisoners became depressed, showing signs of extreme stress. The author discusses her role in this iconic study.