6 - zimbardo ao3 Flashcards
how does zimbardo’s study have internal validity in terms of his experimental design? (strength)
control over variables, didn’t give any rules and allowed guards to make up their own, only used emotionally stable individuals, random selection of roles was how they ruled out any personality differences
how is zimbardo’s sample not generalisable?
all male (androcentric), all
from usa (ethnocentric) and all same age group
how can zimbardo’s work be applied to life outside (abu ghraib)? (strength)
prison in iraq, us soldiers 2003 and 2004 influenced by situational factors (lack of training, unrelenting boredom and no immediate authority figures) to abuse prisoners (human rights violations and war crimes). physical qbuse, sexual abuse, psychological torture, rape and murder
describe how banuazizi and mohavedi (1975) arguing that participants were just play acting is a weakness for zimbardo’s experiment
they argued that they were acting as stereotypes (demand characteristics). one guard said he based his character on a film. this can also explain why the prisoners rioted - they believed this is how real prisoners behave
how did zimbardo disagree with banuazizi and mohavedi by showing that his study has a high level of internal validity (strength)
zimbardo disagreed with them. he argued that the quantitative data collected throughout the experiment showed that 90% of the conversations between prisoners were about prison life.
explain how fromm (1973) criticism of zimbardo ignoring the role of dispositional influences is a weakness of zimbardo’s study
fromm accused zimbardo of exaggerating the power of the situation to influence behaviour and miniskirt the role of personality factors (dispositional). for example, only a third of guards behaved in a brutal manner. another third wanted to enforce the rules fairly, the rest of them actively tried to help the prisoners. this shows that they were able to exercise right and wrong choices despite the situational pressures to conform to the role
describe how zimbardo’s study is ethically immoral in terms of informed consent and harm.
psychological and physical harm was caused to participants. even though zimbardo had consent, it was not informed as participants had not been given full disclosure about what would happen to them. more stringent (stricter) controls have since been added to psychological research.
