Conformity to social roles Flashcards
Who investigated conformity to social roles?
Zimbardo 1973 - Stanford prison experiment
What was the procedure in Zimbardos research?
21 Male volunteers selected by psychological testing which showed them to be emotionally stable
- Randomly allocated the role of guard or prisoner
Guards played their roles enthuisistically and treated prisoners harshly
- prisoners rebelled within 2 days - shouted at guards and ripped uniform
- guards retaliated with harassment of prisoners, remindment that they were powerless by using headcounts etc
Social roles were encouraged by..
- Uniform : Prisoners were stip searched and given uniform and a number, this encouraged de-individuation
Guards enforced rules and had their own uniform including handcuffs - Intructiions about behaviour
Prisoners were told they were not allowed to leave but would have to ask for parole
Guards were told they had complete power over prisoners
What did Zimbardo find in the SPE?
The guards behaviour had threatened the psychological and physcial health of prisoners.
- after the rebellion was ended, prisoners became subdued and depressed
- three prisoners released early due to signs of psychological disturbance
-one prisoner went on hunger strike, and he was punished by being put in a dark closet
The study ended after 6 days instead of the 14 planned days
Social roles are powerful influences on behaviour-most conformed strongly to their role
Guards became brutal and prisoners were submissive
other such as the chaplain also easily conformed
What is one strentgh of SPE?
The SPE had control over key variables
- volunteers were emotionally stable and randomly allocated roles
- the behaviour was due to the role itself not individual personality
- this control increased the studys internal validity
What is one limitation of the SPE?
The SPE lakced the realism of a true prison
-Mohavedi (1975) suggested participants were just play acting based stereotypes seen on TV and how they were supposed to act
- One of the guards admitted to basing his role on a character from a movie, and the prisoners rioted as they believed this is what real prisoners do
- suggesting the SPE tells us little about conformity to social roles in actual prison
What is another limitation of the SPE?
Zimbardo had exaggerated the level of conformity to roles
- the power of social roles to influence behaviour may have been exaggerated in the SPE
-Only a third of the guards behaved brutally, another third applied rules fairly.
the rest would be supportive towards prisoners, reinstating privilidges
-Suggesting the SPE overstates the view that the guards were conforming to a brutal role and minimised dispositional influences.
Outline one procedure in the SPE?
21 male student volunteers were selected by a psychological test which deemed them to be emotionally stable
Outline one finding of the SPE?
Guards would behave according to their role, having power over the prisoners by undergoing headcounts etc
