conformity to social roles Flashcards
what is a social role?
‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups. accompanied by expectations we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role
outline Zimbardo’s AIM and PROCEDURE of the stanford prison experiment
aim-
•extent to which people would conform to the roles in a role playing stimulation of prison life
• whether conforming behaviour was due to the person (dispositions factor) or the prison context (situational factor)
procedure- a mock prison, controlled observation
randomly allocated role of prisoner or guard
zimbardo was prison supervisor
planned to last 14 days
• dehumanisation - prisoners arrested at home, blindfolded and had to wear stocking caps
• deindividuation - prisoners dressed in smock dresses and given prison ID numbers
guards wore uniforms and reflective mirror sunglasses
outline the FINDINGS and CONCLUSIONS of Zimbardo’s research
findings- dehumanisation was apparent when guards began to humiliate prisoners and made clean toilets with bare hands
deindividuation was noticeable when prisoners referred to each other as numbers not names
everyone including researchers conformed to their social roles within the prison
found themselves behaving as if they were in a prison rather than psychological study
stopped after 6 days
conclusions- study revealed power of the situation. the social roles participants had to play influenced their uncharacteristic behaviour.
EVAL - real life example with application
findings NOT procedure
same conformity to social role effect that was evident in the study was also present in Abu Ghraib
believed guards who committed the abuse to prisoners were victims of situational factors that made abuse more likely
increased understanding of the power of situation
lead to beneficial reforms within prison systems
highlighting real life application
EVAL - ethical issues
we’re not protected from psychological harm
participant asked to be released and Zimbardo responded as prison superintendent rather than a researcher with responsibilities
EVAL - demand characteristics
the behaviour of guards and prisoners was due to the power of demand characteristics not the prison environment
they guessed what the researchers wanted them to behave like
lowers the studies internal validity
EVAL - role of dispositions factors was ignored
exaggerated the role of the environment
accused of exaggerating the power of situation to influence behaviour and minimising the the role of personality factors (dispositional)
= both situational and dispositional factors should be considered in order to draw accurate conclusions of conformity to social roles
