Conformity to social roles as investigated by Zimbardo Flashcards
What was the duration of Zimbardos’ Standford prison experiment
It was intended to be done over 1-2 weeks but was halted on the 6th day due to the experiment escalating and the prisoners endure bad environments
What was the sample size of the Stanford prison experiment
There was a sample of 21 university male students
What type of sample was used in the procedure
It was a volunteer sample, posted within the campus in which people could apply for, it was a paid job
Where did the experiment take place?
Took place within the basement of Stanford university, participants were seen as psychologically stable
What method was used to decide who was prisoner and who was guard
Random allocation was used to decide whether they were prisoner or guard
What did the prisoners and guards wear?
The prisoners wore loose fitted smocks and a stocking on their head to mimic being bald.
The guards wore reflective sunglasses so they couldn’t make eye contact with the prisoners
Who played the superintendent?
Zimbardo
What were the findings of the experiment?
-Guards became aggressive
-Prisoners rebelled on day 2, in response, the guards locked them in their cells and removed their blankets
- The guards stripped them of their dignity, making them do dehumanising tasks
What conclusions can be made from this study?
The ‘prisoners’ adopted the behaviour when assigned certain roles, they were quick to become driven by the newfound power they were given.
What does this explain about conformity
Conformity to social roles leads people to change their behaviour
Roughly summarise the procedure of the experiment
- The prisoners were arrested from their homes
- they were only referred to with their given numbers
- Prisoners rebelled
- Guards became aggressive
- Prisoners conformed
- Experiment ended after 6 days
