Conformity into social roles Flashcards
What was the aim of the stanford experiment
- How the taking of social roles would lead to conformity to roles
- test the disposition hypothesis
What was the procedure of the Stanford experiment?
- Basement of Stanford University
- Participants randomly allocated to ‘prisoner’ or ‘guard’
- Guards told not to use physical punishment
What was the findings of the experiment
people quickly conform to social roles, even when the role goes against their moral principles.
Define social roles:
The part people plays as members of a social group
What occurs when adopting a social role?
Behaviour change to fit the expectations to fit role
When was the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted?
1973
Why did the study happen?
US Navy wanted to investigate the causes of conflict between guards and prisoners in naval prisons
Sample of Stanford Prison experiment:
- 24 men
- middle class
- white
-passed psychological testing - ‘Prisoners’ collected from home and were fingerprinted, blindfolded, searched and given a uniform (role of identification)
Results of Stanford Prison experiment:
- Guards humiliates and punished prisoners
- Prisoners began to show signs of mental and emotional distress
- Riots on the second day
Prisoners later on became passive and helpless - Guards became aggressive in authoritarian way
- 5 Prisoners had been released earlier
- The experiment was stopped 6 days instead of the planned 14 days
Conclusion of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment:
- Rejects the dispositional hypothesis
- Readily conformed to social roles they were expected to play
- Social roles shaped their attitudes and behaviour
Dispositional hypothesis of zimbardos study
Guards and prisoners were bad seeds - it is due to the nature of the people in the prison
Situational hypothesis of Zimbardos study
Brutality is due to the environmental conditions of the prison
