Chapter 1.2 - Conformity to social roles

Question 1

Give a brief description of the Stanford Prison Experiment

Answer 1

21 male student volunteers who were tested as ‘emotionally stable’ were randomly assigned to play the role of prison guard or prisoner, the people were encouraged to conform to social roles both through uniforms and behaviour

Question 2

What uniform were the prisoners given?

Answer 2

A loose smock, a cap, and were identified by number

Question 3

What uniform were the prison guards given?

Answer 3

A wooden club, handcuffs, and mirror shades

Question 4

What was the purpose of the uniforms in the SPE?

Answer 4

The uniforms reflected the status of their role and created a loss of personal identity (de-individuation), meaning they were more likely to conform to social roles

Question 5

How were the prisoners instructed to behave?

Answer 5

They were encouraged to identify with their role through several procedures such as applying for parole rather than leaving the study early

Question 6

How were the prison guards instructed to behave?

Answer 6

They were reminded that they had complete power over the prisoners

Question 7

What were the findings? (guard roles)

Answer 7

Guards took on their role enthusiastically and treated the prisoners harshly

Question 8

What were the findings? (guard behaviour)

Answer 8

They became increasingly brutal and aggressive

Question 9

What were the findings? (guard power)

Answer 9

Guards constantly harassed the prisoners to remind them of the power imbalance, by conducting frequent headcounts(even at night) and creating opportunities to enforce the rules and administer punishments

Question 10

What were the findings? (prisoner acts)

Answer 10

The prisoners rebelled in two days, ripping up their uniforms, shouting and swearing at the guards, who retaliated with fire extinguishers

Question 11

What were the findings? (prisoner behaviour)

Answer 11

The prisoners became subdued, depressed, and anxious after the rebellion

Question 12

What were the findings? (prisoner)

Answer 12

One was released because he showed symptoms of psychological disturbance, another went on a hunger strike, guards tried to force-feed him and punished him by putting him in a tiny dark closet

Question 13

How long was the experiment?

Answer 13

The study ended after six days instead of the intended 14

Question 14

What was the conclusion?

Answer 14

Social roles have a strong influence on an individual’s behaviour, guards became brutal and prisoners submissive

Question 15

What is an advantage to this case study? (control)

Answer 15

→ Emotionally stable individuals were chosen and randomly assigned to the roles, ruling out personality differences

→ If the participants behaved very differently, their behaviour must have been due to the role itself

→ The degree of control over these variables increased the internal validity

Question 16

What is a limitation of this case study? (realism)

Answer 16

→ The participants were play-acting rather than genuinely conforming to their role, their performances were based on their stereotypes of behaviour E.g. a guard based his role on a character in a movie, this explains why the prisoners rioted, they believed it was something that real prisoners did

→ The findings don’t provide information to social roles in actual prisons, it is not applicable to real-world circumstances

Question 17

What is a counterpoint to the lack of realism?

Answer 17

→ 90% of the prisoner’s conversations were about prison life

→ Prisoner 416 stated that he believed that the prison was a real one run by psychologists rather than the government, suggesting that the SPE replicated the social roles well, giving the study a high degree of internal validity

Question 18

What is a limitation of this case study? (exaggerated power)

Answer 18

→ Only 1/3 of guards behaved in a brutal manner whereas 1/3 tried to apply the rules fairly and the others actively tried to help and support the prisoners

→ Zimbardo overstated that his participants conformed to social roles and undermined the value of dispositional factors such as personality

Question 19

What is an alternative explanation?

Answer 19

Social Identity Theory, the guards had to actively identify with their social roles rather than inevitably behaving brutally