Unconditional positive regard - Complete love and acceptance of an individual by another person, such as a parent for a child, with no conditions attached.

Blaine was the first to regain his composure. "I'll start," he announced. "Hi, I'm Blaine. I'm hopelessly fucked up and have no idea what I'm doing with my life, but I know I want you in it."

Kurt's grin was impossibly bright in the dim light of his living room, leaving Blaine stunned and speechless. "I'm Kurt," he spoke, extending his hand to Blaine. "And I think that sounds like a marvelous plan…"

October 1, 1981:

Coming up tonight on ABC New Presents: Is it possible for a good person to turn evil? Do you think you have an inner demon, or do you think that you could ever be swayed by bad influences, people or systems? Could you or someone you know be convinced to hurt another person, simply because someone in authority told you to? The truth may surprise you.

Linda: Hello, I'm Linda Coppel and this is ABC News Presents. Tonight, we bring you the story of one of the most infamous research studies in the field of psychology. You've probably all heard of The Dalton Prison Study, a week-long experiment on the psychological effects of prison life on prisoners and prison guards. Led by Dr. Richard Cohen, a then prominent researcher in the field of social psychology, the study recruited ordinary college students for a week-long study that would basically amount to playacting either prisoners or guards. Eight young men were recruited to participate in the study and were paid $15 a day. Dr. Cohen and his team aimed to test the hypothesis that the inherent personality traits of prisoners and guards are the chief cause of abusive behavior in prison. The results of the study shocked the nation as ordinary young men quickly turned on one another, inflicting sadistic and dehumanizing physical and psychological on torture. The study demonstrated that all people have the capacity for evil under the right circumstances and led to much needed ethical reforms to protect the rights of vulnerable research subjects. On the tenth anniversary of the research study, we bring you an exclusive interview with the participants of The Dalton Prison Study. Hear about their experiences as prisoners and guards as they walk us through the horrific conditions they were forced to face and find out how those experiences continue to affect them ten years later.

Nick Duval: Prisoner 137 and Jeff Sterling: Prisoner 138

Linda: Nick, Jeff, what did you think when you first arrived at the prison? What was the environment like?

Nick: It was pretty intense. They had us picked up from our houses, handcuffed, the whole nine yards. We were blindfolded when they brought us into the actual prison so we wouldn't know where we were. They had cells with bars on the door and tiny cots with a bare mattress. I remember telling Jeff that it didn't look like a very cozy place to spend two weeks.

Jeff: Yeah, we definitely weren't sure to make of everything at first. It was intimidating.

Linda: And you were both assigned to be prisoners, obviously. What was that like? Walk us through the first few days of being a prisoner.

Nick: Well, it was definitely weird, but it wasn't so bad at first.

Jeff: It was boring, mostly. Nick and I got assigned to share a cell and we became close friends almost immediately once we realized how much we had in common.

Linda: You were both guarded by Sebastian Smythe, correct? What was he like as a guard?

Jeff: Umm, he was a bit of a creep to be honest.

Nick: (laughs) Yeah, he was hard to read. He was either super nice and flirty or he was screaming at us to do push-ups. Look, I know how intense everything became in that prison, and I don't really know anything about Sebastian outside of the study, so I don't want to rag on the guy too much. I mean who am I to say that I wouldn't have done the same thing if I was a guard? Wasn't the major message of the results, after all?

Linda: You raise a good point. Did you read the results of the study when it was first published?

Nick: We did, yeah. The results came out, what - like a year after the study? By that time, I'd gotten over the stuff that we had to deal with in the prison. I'd moved on. We both had. And we were curious. We had almost no contact with Dr. Cohen and the study ended so abruptly that we got very little information about the goals and hypotheses of the study. It was fascinating to hear more about the guards and the psychology behind why they did what they did. It definitely helped me understand them a little better, even Sebastian.

Jeff: Look, if we're honest, he was pretty awful to us during the study. But it was a good learning experience. We went through a difficult experience, we endured it, and we're stronger today for having gone through it. We were lucky that we had each other to lean on. It definitely made the whole process easier. And Nick is my best friend. We're so alike and I sometimes wonder what might have happened if I hadn't signed up for the study.

Nick: We would've met eventually.

Jeff: You think so?

Nick: We would've found a way.

Sebastian Smythe – Correctional Officer Smythe

Linda: Sebastian, I appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to be here with us today. I think it's safe to say that you weren't very eager to do this interview?

Sebastian: I think that's a safe assumption, yes. Look, business is booming and this study is something I did for six days when I was a kid. Ten years ago. Not exactly top of the priority list, you know?

Linda: That's understandable. But you have to know how important this study is to the field of psychology, even ten years later?

Sebastian: I guess.

Linda: I'd like to start at the very beginning. You were selected to be a guard. Were you happy with that role? Did you ever think about how things would have been different if you'd been a prisoner?

Sebastian: I never would have been a prisoner. Simple as that.

Linda: But surely you are aware that everyone was randomly assigned to be a prisoner or guard, so isn't it equally likely that you could have been a prisoner?

Sebastian: Look, I went into this study knowing that I wanted to be a guard. If I'd been assigned as a prisoner, I would have quit. It's not like I needed the money after all.

Linda: Well, that leads me to the next question? What exactly did motivate you to take place in the study?

Sebastian: I like being in charge. In the bedroom and out of it, if you catch my drift (winks).

Linda: So it was the power that attracted you to this study?

Sebastian: Abso-fucking-lutely.

Linda: Well, you certainly were one the more forceful guards in the study. Can you walk us through the punishments you devised for the prisoners? Some of them seemed quite cruel and sadistic to an outsider.

Sebastian: Look, you weren't in the prison so you have no idea what it was really like. I was doing what Dr. Cohen asked me to do. But I'm a big believer in never doing anything halfway. It's served me well in my business dealings. So if I was going to be guard, I wanted it to be abundantly clear that I was in charge and that the prisoners shouldn't even think about breathing without my permission. And ultimately, that's what I accomplished. The punishments and methods I used were just means to exert my control. But I do have to admit I'm still quite proud of the creativity that went into some of the punishments.

Linda: Well, the answer seems obvious, but I'm going to go ahead and ask anyway. Sebastian, do you have any regrets about the study and your behavior?

Sebastian: None at all. Are we done here?

Sam Evans – Prisoner 474

Linda: Next we go to Sam Evans, better known as Prisoner 474 in the study. Sam, I wanted to talk with you about how you handled the pressures of prison life. While many of the prisoners found active or passive ways to revolt, you seemed very withdrawn and submissive. I was told that some of the guards even nicknamed you "Sarge" behind the scenes because you were so compliant and good at following orders. Talk to me about why you chose this strategy.

Sam: I don't know that I would say I "chose" that strategy. That's just how I was coping back then. I was already in a bad place when the study started and everything that happened in the prison just made it worse.

Linda: What was going on before you signed up for the study?

Sam: My parents had both lost their jobs. They'd been out of work for a good six months before the study started. I've got a younger brother and sister and even with my income from odd jobs, it was hard to support the family. I was desperate for money so I wouldn't be a burden on everyone. That's why I signed up for the study. And I told myself that I would just keep my head down and do whatever it took to get through it. I honestly blocked a lot of it out. I was there, but I really wasn't, you know?

Linda: Really? What do you remember from the study?

Sam: Lots of whistles blowing, pushups, shouting, and general chaos.

Linda: One thing I found fascinating about the study was that the abuse wasn't just limited to guards on prisoners. There were many prisoners who targeted one another. Talk to me a little bit about your feud with Prisoner 219.

Sam: What feud? I never had an issue with him.

Linda: We actually have some footage of the incident to which I'm referring to. Would you like to see it?

Sam: (nervously) I guess so.

Archival Footage – Day 3 of The Dalton Prison Study

Officer Karofsky: 474, get your ass over here. Alright 219, if sit ups are so easy that you have time to laugh, let's try something harder. I doubt that you lift anything than a can of hairspray, so how about pushups?"

Prisoner 219: (shrugs, moving into push-up position)

Officer Karofsky: Not so fast, homo. 474 here is going to make sure you don't cheat. 474, I want you to sit on his back. I'm sure you have guys on top of you all the time after all. Give me 100 pushups. If you give me wussy push-ups or stop even for a second, I'll make you start the count all over too. Got it?

Prisoner 219: (breathing hard) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5...

Prisoner 219: ...38 – 39 – 40. (219 collapses)

Officer Anderson: (to 219) You okay?

Prisoner 219: (shakes head no)

Officer Karofsky: Dude, what the fuck? Alright 219, if you don't get your delicate girly bits up and back to doing pushups in by the count of 5, you're going to have to do 200 more push-ups instead of 100, got it? And 474, did I tell you that you could get off him? Get your ass back on his back or you're going to join him in doing 100 pushups.

Prisoner 219: (whispering) Go away, Anderson. I've got this.

Prisoner 474: (yawns disinterestedly before dropping down on 219's back again)

Prisoner 219: Oof...(collapses to the floor)

Officer Anderson: That's it, 474! On your feet. Now! I'm not fucking kidding. Up!

Officer Anderson: What's your deal, 474? All you ever do is sit there with that stupid fucking blank look on your face. You're in a fucking prison, do you even realize that? You are a prisoner. You are OUR prisoner. You should be sticking up your fellow prisoners and you just don't give a shit about anyone, do you? Jesus! What is your fucking problem? Answer me!"

Linda: So Sam, now that you've seen the footage, can you walk us through what was going through your head?

Sam: (whispering, near tears) I had no idea...

Linda: I'm sorry, Sam, but I didn't quite catch that. You were saying?

Sam: I honestly had no memory of that. I must have...I guess I blocked it out.

Linda: Really? Well then, how did you feel watching that scene?

Sam: Awful, just awful. I had no idea I'd hurt Prisoner 219 like that. I swear it wasn't intentional, I just...I wasn't me then. I can't explain it but it felt like I was outside my body watching those things happen to someone else.

Linda: It sounds like the study continues to affect you, even today, ten years later.

Sam: (sighs heavily) It does. I thought I'd gotten past it for the most part. But it took a lot. When I left the study, I...I wasn't in a good place. I felt like I'd let my family down by taking off like that. They had no idea where I'd been. I just disappeared on them when they needed me the most. I was too ashamed to face them, so I left town. I hitchhiked around, getting odd jobs here and there. I did a lot of things I wasn't proud of. I always sent whatever money I could save back to my family, but they had no idea what had happened to me. I didn't even tell them about the study until months later.

Linda: You said that you'd started to get past the study? What helped you move on?

Sam: I met a girl. She's beautiful and strong and she doesn't take shit from anyone, even me. Especially me. I think she saw through me pretty quickly and pushed me to talk about everything that had happened. She helped me resolve things with my family and get a real job. And two weeks ago, she agreed to marry me, officially making me the luckiest man alive.

Linda: She sounds wonderful.

Sam: Mercedes is amazing, she really, really is.

Linda: So Sam, before we interview the other guards and prisoners, is there anything you'd like to say? Anything you need to get off your chest?

Sam: I'd really like the chance to apologize to Prisoner 219, I mean Kurt, if I could. Now that I've seen what I did to him, I feel like I owe it to him.

Linda: I'm sure that can be arranged.

David Karofsky – Correctional Officer Karofsky

Linda: David, thank you for being here today. We've spoken with many of the prisoners who described you as this very intimidating figure. Tell us a little bit about your persona as Correctional Officer Karofsky.

David: Well, when I entered the study, I was just a kid. Dr. Cohen didn't tell us much about the study aside from the fact that it was meant to study prison life. I thought about it a bit and decided that the point of the study had to be to prove how harsh and cruel prison life can be. So I basically made the decision that I'd do what I could to help reinforce Dr. Cohen's hypotheses. I took on the persona of this brutally harsh guard based on things I'd seen in movies.

Linda: But certainly there must have been more to it that than? From the footage we've seen, it seemed like you were enjoying torturing the prisoners.

David: (sighs) Look, it's taken me a long time to confront what I did and make peace with it. When I left the study with a pat on the back from Dr. Cohen and $200 in my pocket, I honestly had no regrets. And I won't lie, I did enjoy having that kind of power over people. I said and did some horrible things, things that will haunt me to my dying day. But I'm a different person now and I'm no longer living in the past.

Linda: You said you're a different person now? What made you change?

David: I became a father. There's nothing that forces you to examine yourself and your life choices like bringing a new life into the world. It occurred to me that one day my son would be in a class and he'd learn about The Dalton Prison Study and my involvement in it. The very idea of that made me feel sick. I think that's when I first started to realize that what I'd done was wrong. I could make a lot of excuses for my behavior and claim it wasn't "the real me" doing those horrible things, but ultimately I hurt other people. That's not okay. I didn't want my son to grow up thinking that was okay, so I really started to work through it and do what I could to make things right.

Linda: Well, that's remarkable, David. So now you feel like you've made things right with everyone?

David: I've had a chance to really reflect on my behavior and work through what I did and why. But the one thing I've never had the chance to do is to apologize directly to the people that I hurt most. I still want a chance to say how sorry I am to Sebastian, Blaine, Kurt, Sam, Nick, Jeff, and Noah. I hurt them all in various ways. So if it's okay with you, I'd like to read something I prepared for today.

Linda: Go right ahead.

David: To the participants of the Dalton Prison Study, I want to start off by saying that I take full responsibility for my behavior. I was abusive, cruel, and sadistic. I was constantly looking for your weaknesses so that I could exploit them. I took pleasure in seeing you hurting, physically and emotionally. I won't make excuses for why I did those awful things. All I can tell you is that I'm no longer that person. I spend my days trying to put something good out into the world so that I can hopefully counteract all the negativity I caused. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. If not today, then maybe someday in the future. I hope you are all doing well and please know that I think of you often and wish you all the best.

Linda: Powerful words. David, thank you so much for being here.

Linda: Before we conclude with our final interview of the evening, one note. You may have noticed that we've spoken to every participant of The Dalton Prison Study except for one, Noah Puckerman, Prisoner 378. Unfortunately, Noah is currently serving a two year sentence in Allen Correctional Institution for a burglary charge and as a result was not able to be with us today. We also attempted to contact Dr. Richard Cohen, the principal investigator of The Dalton Prison Study, but we received word from his attorney that he was not willing to be interviewed on camera or provide us with a statement.

Now finally, I'd like to introduce two of the most well known participants from The Dalton Prison Study. Kurt Hummel, then known as Prisoner 219, was the leader of a passive rebellion who went on a hunger strike to protest the prisoner treatment and conditions. Because of this, Kurt received the lion's share of the abuse from the guards. He was force-fed, spent hours locked in a tiny closet serving as solitary confinement, made to participate in degrading simulated sex acts with other prisoners, and constantly harassed by the guards. Despite his treatment, Kurt refused to quit the study or let his spirit be broken, instead continuing to fight for better rights and treatment for all the prisoners until the study was abruptly discontinued after six days.

Blaine Anderson, then known as Correctional Officer Anderson, was the anomaly among the guards in the Dalton Prison Study. While other guards willingly lavished abuse and punishments on the other prisoners, Blaine mostly hung back, remaining a passive rather than active participant in the atrocities. But ultimately, it was the repeated abuse of Prisoner 219 and the relationship developing between prisoner and guard behind the scene that led Blaine to finally make a stand. When Blaine couldn't take the constant harassment, abuse, and torture that the prisoners were being subjected to, abuse that he felt powerless to stop, he made an anonymous call to the Westerville Police that changed everything.

Kurt Hummel: Prisoner 219 and Blaine Anderson: Correctional Officer Anderson

Linda: Kurt and Blaine, thank you for being here today.

Kurt: Thanks for having us.

Blaine: (smiles) Great to be here.

Linda: There's so much to discuss with this fascinating study, but I want to start at the beginning. What attracted you to the study? What made you want to sign up?

Kurt: Well, I'm an actor so I love a good challenge (laughs). In all honestly, I signed up because it was easy. I was studying musical performance in New York at the time and had just come home for a few weeks. I wanted to find a part-time job that would be willing to take me on for only a few weeks, and this seemed like a pretty easy job at the time...

Linda: Little did you know...

Kurt: (sighs, shaking his head) I had no idea what I was getting myself into...

Linda: And Blaine, over to you. What made you sign up for the study?

Blaine: (flatly) Desperation.

Linda: Okay, can you tell us a little more about that?

Blaine: I'd been kicked out of the house a few days before the study began. I was in desperate need of money and a place to say, and this study came along when I was at my lowest point. Like Kurt, I thought it would be a piece of cake, and believe it or not, $15 a day was a pretty decent chunk of change at the time, especially when you take into account that room and board was already taken care of.

Linda: Kurt, I want to talk to you a bit more about your experience as a prisoner in the study. Watching the footage back, it's easy to see how much Blaine was trying to keep you safe behind the scenes. But you weren't aware of that, at least initially, right? Tell us about your first impression of Officer Anderson.

Kurt: I hated him (laughs). Honestly, he was the nicest of the guards, but that did mean much to me at the time. It was very black and white to me. I could tell that he was a good guy deep down, but he was a guard, so he was the enemy.

Linda: And Blaine, what about you? How did you feel when you were assigned to be Kurt's guard?

Blaine: Well two things. First, I hated being a guard. I spent the entire study terrified of breaking the rules or getting caught helping Kurt because I felt like I couldn't afford to get kicked out of the study. At the same time, I was scaring myself with the things that I was doing and going along with. Watching that video back of me hurling insults at the prisoners and getting up in Prisoner 474's face, it still scares me. That's probably the closest I've ever come to snapping. If I'd gone further... (shudders). Well, I don't even want to think about that.

Kurt: But it wasn't like you were doing that for no reason, Blaine. You were trying to protect me.

Blaine: (sighs heavily) I was...but that doesn't make it right. I could've really hurt someone, Kurt.

Kurt: I don't believe that. I don't think you have that in you.

Blaine: (turns to Linda) See, this is why we're so lucky to have found each other. I don't know how I would have dealt with things if I hadn't had Kurt to reassure me.

Linda: I see that. Blaine, earlier you mentioned there were two things you wanted to say in relation to being Kurt's guard. What was the other one?

Blaine: Well, the second was just that you mentioned being assigned to be Kurt's guard, but that's not quite right. It wasn't random. I chose him.

Linda: Really?

Blaine: Yeah, the guards got together and we decided who would take which prisoners and I picked Kurt.

Linda: And what drew you to Kurt?

Blaine: There was something about his spirit even then... It's hard to put it into words. But he looked the most alive. He wasn't openly hostile or defiant, but there was something in his expression that basically dared anyone to mess with him. I was drawn to that quality. It's one of things I love most about Kurt.

Kurt: Aww, honey! He's totally the softie in the relationship, can't you tell?

Linda: You two are very sweet together. But Kurt, now that we've heard from Blaine, tell us – when did you first start to see Blaine as something besides the enemy?

Kurt: It was hard for me. There would be these moments when I'd feel like I'd see the real Blaine and we'd connect, but then something would happen to remind me all over again that he was the enemy. I was scared to let him in because it seemed like a dangerous thing to do.

Linda: Tell me about those moments when you started to have feelings for him.

Kurt: Well, the biggest moment was probably on the night before the study ended, when he pulled me out of solitary and took me to the showers so that I could eat.

Blaine: You were kicking and screaming the whole way...

Kurt: I was, but I secretly appreciated it. I just didn't want you to know it. I was still frustrated with Blaine and the whole situation, but it was hard to deny how much he cared about me when I saw the effort he'd gone to.

Linda: I've just got to ask. That was also the night that Blaine asked you to quit the study with him. Why didn't you just leave then?

Kurt: In my head, the most important thing in the world was making sure I didn't let the guards see me sweat. I didn't want to feel as if anyone could "break" me. I'd been bullied many times in the past, so sticking it out became a point of pride for me. And every time the violence and cruelty increased, I was that more determined to stay.

Blaine: And I didn't get that at the time...

Kurt: Right, I was beyond angry with Blaine for suggesting that I just quit as if it was no big deal. So I shut him out again.

Linda: And Blaine, what was going through your head that night? How did you feel when Kurt refused to leave the study with you?

Blaine: It was awful. I felt so hopeless. It seemed like every time I'd start to make a connection with Kurt, something would get in the way and we'd be back at square one. I've told Kurt this since then, but it honestly felt like stepping around landmines only he could see.

Linda: And is that what led you to call the police and report the study? What was the breaking point for you?

Blaine: I think it came down me finally knowing that there was nothing I could do to get Kurt out of harm's way. Maybe I was naïve or arrogant, I don't really know, but up until that moment, I still believed that there was a way out of it for both of us. I wanted to be the hero, as cheesy as that sounds. And when Kurt refused to leave or even talk it over with me any further that last night, I knew I needed help. I did the only thing I could think of in the circumstances. I'm just glad it worked and kept Kurt safe. If he'd been hurt, I don't know that I would have ever forgiven myself.

Linda: So your actions were mainly motivated by your feelings for Kurt? Is that a fair assumption?

Blaine: (blushes) Yeah, you could say that. I'd love to say that I was all noble and stopped the study because of my moral objections or for the good of humanity, but in all honesty, I was only thinking of Kurt. I just knew I needed him to be safe.

Linda: It's clear that you two developed quite a bond despite the hopeless circumstances. I have one final question for both of you. Let's start with you, Kurt. After everything you went through, do you regret signing up for the study?

Kurt: Not for a second. I got Blaine out of the ordeal and that's a priceless gift I wouldn't trade for the world.

Linda: And what about you Blaine?

Blaine: Despite the awful things that happened, I'm grateful for the study and I don't regret signing up for it at all. Kurt has taught me so much about myself. He gave me the courage to be who I really am and to follow my dreams. I couldn't imagine life without him. So much so that I asked him to marry me about a year ago. (Blaine and Kurt hold up their intertwined hands to display their matching wedding bands). Unfortunately, we live in a country that still won't recognize our right to legally marry yet. But at the end of the day, we have each other, and that is a lot more important to us than some silly piece of paper.

Linda: Well, I know I speak for our viewers when I say that we wish you two all the best. Thank you for sharing your story.

Linda: And that concludes tonight's program, a study about the evil that otherwise normal men can do to one another. The study rocked the psychology community when it was first published, and even ten years later, all the participants have been profoundly affected by the study in various ways. While it would be easy to dwell on the numerous ethical principles that this study violated or the disheartening things that the study suggests about our very humanity, instead we want to leave you with a bit of hope. Ten years ago, a prisoner and his guard were brought together by a series of seemingly random events. Despite being pitted against one another, they formed an enduring bond and stood up together against the abuse running rampant in the prison. Despite the hopeless place in which these individuals first met, we've seen forgiveness, redemption, friendship, and even love spring up. And it is this message of hope, of enduring despite seemingly impossible circumstances that I hope you will carry with you tonight and beyond. I'm Linda Coppel for ABC News Presents. Goodnight.