In order to have the parents not insist on taking their sons home, they groomed the prisoners, had them clean their cells, fed them a big dinner, played music over the intercom, and had a former Stanford cheerleader greet visitors at the desk. Once the parents arrived, they were read rules that would also bring the parents under control of the experiment and the situation they were now being placed in. The parents were under the surveillance of a guard while they visited with their son, and while they complained, they complied. The parents were now just as much a part of the experiment as anyone