The Stanford Prison Experiment was a psychological study conducted in 1971 by Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University. The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of perceived power by assigning college students to roles as either guards or prisoners in a simulated prison environment. The study was intended to last two weeks but was terminated after only six days due to the extreme and abusive behavior exhibited by the guards. The findings highlighted the impact of situational factors on behavior, raising ethical concerns about the treatment of participants in psychological research.