conformity to social roles Flashcards
what are social roles
a part individuals play as members of a social group, which meets the expectation of that situation
why study demonstrates social roles
Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment
what were the aims of Zimbardo’s experiment
the extent to which people conform to roles of guard/prisoner in a stimulated prison environment
what was the sample in Zimbardo’s study
24 male student volunteers
told they would be paid $15 a day
how did Zimbardo do the volunteers before the SPE
originally had 46 volunteers but made then all have a psychological screening to test whether they were ‘mentally and psychologically stable’ and 24 of them were
what was wrong with Zimbardo’s sample
small sample
androcentric
same age (roughly)
what was the method of Zimbardo’s study
took place in a psychology basement - mock prison
prisoners were arrested by real police outside of their homes, and processed at the mock prison - blind folded, strip searched deloused and issued with uniform and number
dehumanisation was used - chain around the ankles of prisoners, and prisoners were given a number instead of their names
guards wore Khaki uniform, mirror reflecting sunglasses (easier for eye contact), wooden club. handcuffs, key
guards were told that they had complete control over the prisoners but they could not cause any physical harm (beating) to the prisoners
Zimbardo would be lead researcher and prison superintendent (dual roles)
meant to run for 2 weeks
what happened with the social roles of Guards and Prisoners
they settled into them quickly
what is deindividuation
taking away someone’s identity - prisoners had numbers
what were were zimbardo’s findings
within 2 days , prisoners rebelled against harsh treatment from guards. ripped their uniforms, shouted, swore and guards retaliated with fire extinguishers.
the guards constantly harassed prisoners, highlighting difference in social roles , creating plenty of opportunities to enforce the rules and punish even the smallest misdemeanour.
prisoners became subdued, depressed and anxious. one prisoner released first day because he showed signs of psychological disturbance. - in the whole study 3 prisoners left
one prisoner went on a hunger strike , the guards attempted to force feed him- punished him by putting him in ‘ the hole’ - a tiny dark closet
the guards increasingly identified with their role
study ended after 6 days instead of the 14 as planned
what were the conclusions of Zimbardo’s study
the simulation revealed the power of the situation to influence people’s behaviour. Guards, prisoners and researchers, all conformed to their roles and they were very easily taken on by participants, even volunteers who came in to perform certain functions ( eg prison chaplain) found themselves behaving as if they were in a prison rather than a study.
situational is preferred over dispositional - non of the pps had shown these traits before
control of key variables (AO3)
emotionally stable pps were recruited and randomly allocated to the roles of guard or prisoner
the guards and prisoners has those roles only by chance → their behaviour was due to the role itself and not their personaliities.
the control increased the study’s internal validity, so we have more confidence in drawing conclusions about the effects of social roles of conformity
lack of research support
Reicher and Haslam’s (2006) partial replication of the SPE was broadcasted as the BBC study → it is the only replication of the SPE
the finding were very different to those of Zimbardo and his colleagues → it was the prisoners who eventually took control of the mock prison and subjected the guards to a campaign of harassment and disobedience
the researchers used the Social identity theory (SIT - Tajfel 1981) → they argued that the guards failed to develop a shared social identity as a cohesive group, but the prisoners did, they actively identified themselves as members of a social group that refused to accept the limits of their assigned role as prisoners.
additionaly there are cultural and historical differences between the SPE in the USA and the BBC study in the Uk.
moreover the researchers argued that this shows pps did not automatically conform to their roles but chose how to behave → this suggests that Zimbardo was wrong to claim the guard’s behaviour was an automatic consequence of them conforming to their role as not all guards behaved sadistically so much behaviour might not be due to an automatic embracing of the role
ethical issues
a major ethical issue arose because of Zimbardo’s dual roles in the study. for example on one occasion a prisoner (4216) who wanted to leave the study spoke to Zimbardo in his role as superintendent. the whole conversation was conducted on the basis that the student was a prisoner in a prison, asking to be ‘released’
Zimbardo responded to him as a superintendent worried about the running of his prison rather than as a research with responsibilities towards his pps
pps were not deceived because they were told beforehand that many of their usual rights would be temporarily suspended
prisoners were also arrested outside of their homes, which could have cause psychological harm as it might of been embarrassment
lacked the realism of a true prison
Banuazizi and Mohavedi (1975) argued that pps were merely play-acting rather than genuinely conforming to a role → their performances were based on their sterotypes of how prisoners and guards are supposed to behave
one guard based his role on a brutal character from the film Cool Hand Luck → it also explained why the prisoners rioted because they thought that was what real prisoner did
quantitive data gathers during the procedure showed that 90% of the prisoners conversations were about prison life → prisoner 416 expressed that he viewed the prison as a real one, but instead run by psychologists instead of the government.
on balance it seems that the situation was real to the pps which gives the study a high degree of internal valdiity
