4.1.1 CONFORMITY TO SOCIAL ROLES

Question 1

what are social rules?

Answer 1

the parts individuals play as members of a social group which meet the expectations of that situation

Question 2

what did Zimbardo want to investigate?

Answer 2

• how readily people would conform to the social roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that stimulated prison life

Question 3

what was the procedure of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 3

• set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University
• advertised for students willing to volunteer and selected those who were deemed ’emotionally stable’ after extensive psychological testing
• the ppts were randomly assigned the roles of guards or prisoners

Question 4

how did Zimbardo heighten the realism of his study?

Answer 4

• the ‘prisoners’ were arrested in their home by the local police and delivered to the ‘prison’
• they were blindfolded, strip-searched, deloused and issued a uniform and number
• names were never used, only their assigned numbers

Question 5

how was uniform used in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 5

PRISONERS
- wore a loose smock and a cap

GUARDS
- given their own khaki uniform, wooden club, handcuffs, mirror shades to make eye contact with prisoners difficult
- told they had complete power over the prisoners

-> both uniforms created a loss of the individuals personal identity (de-individuation)
-> they would be more likely to conform to their perceived social role

Question 6

what were the findings of the Zimbardo study?
GUARDS

Answer 6

• both guards and prisoners settled into their new roles quickly
• guards adopted their social role with enthusiasm
• within hours, some guards began to harass prisoners and treated them harshly
• guards used fire extinguishers to retaliate
  -> using ‘divide-and-rule’ tactics
  -> playing the prisoners off against each other and completing headcounts
• guards became more aggressive and assertive taking on their social roles easily
• demanded greater obedience from the prisoners

Question 7

what were the findings of Zimbardo’s study?
PRISONERS

Answer 7

• within 2 days, the prisoners rebelled and ripped off their uniform / shouted / swore at guards
• prisoners soon adopted prisoner-like behaviour
  -> talked about prison issues
  -> told tales about each other to the guards
• started taking the prison rules very seriously
  -> some began siding with the guards against prisoners who didn’t obey the rules
• became more submissive
• were dependent on the guards so tried to find ways to please them

Question 8

when did the Zimbardo experiment end?

Answer 8

after 6 days instead of the 14 originally planned

Question 9

what were the conclusions of the Zimbardo study?

Answer 9

• appears social roles have a strong influence on individuals’ behaviour
• guards became brutal and the prisoners submissive
• roles were easily taken on by all involved
• all ppts behaved as if it were a ‘real’ prison

Question 10

what are some strengths of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 10

1) prisoners and guards were randomly assigned to their roles
-> increasing the control he had over the internal validity of the study = more confidence in drawing conclusions from the study

2) ppts were ‘emotionally stable’
-> which aimed to rule out individual personality differences as an explanation of the findings

3) major practical application
-> study meant practices were changed in US prisons to protect the vulnerable and make prisons safer

Question 11

what are some weaknesses of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 11

1) lack of realism
- was argued that ppts were just acting rather than genuinely conforming
- performances were based on their stereotypes of how they were supposed to behave

2) ethical issues
- ppts were subjected to psychological harm which could’ve been long-lasting
- right to withdraw was made difficult
-> perhaps bc Zimbardo himself was playing the role of superintendent