conformity to social roles- zimbardo Flashcards
what was the aim of Zimbardo’s research
to investigate how readily people would conform into role of guard or prison in a role play exercise that simulated prison life
what was the method Zimbardo used
21 male sample
converted Stanford basement into a prison
students were randomly given a role
all given a uniform based on their role to create a loss of personal identity called de individualisation
guards were told they had power over the prisoners
what were the results of the study
guards took up their roles and treated prisoners harshly
within 2 days the prisoners rebelled
one went on a hunger strike and guards punished them by putting him in a tiny dark closet
guards got more brutal and aggressive
ended study after 6 days
what were the conclusions of the study
social roles appear to have a strong influence on individuals behaviour
prisoners became submissive guards became brutal
roles were taken on by all participants
one strength of Zimbardo’s research
control
strength - Zimbardo and his colleagues had control over key variables
example - selected emotionally stables individuals and randomly assigned roles of guards or prisoners which is one way the researchers rules out individual personality differences
this control over variables increased the internal validity of study
we can be more confident in drawing conclusions about the influence of roles on conformity
give one limitation of Zimbardo’s research
lack of realism
limitation - did not have realism of a true prison
Banu Azizi and Movahedi argued that participants were play acting rather than conforming to a role
participants performances were based on stereotypes
example - one of the guards based his role on a brutal charter from a film
suggests that the findings of the experiment tell us little about conformity to social roles
give one limitation of Zimbardo’s research
exaggerates power of roles
limitation - Zimbardo exaggerates power of social roles to influence behaviour
example - only 1/3 of guards actually behaved in a brutal manner
another 1/3 tried to apply the rules fairly
rest supported prisoners - sympathised with them and offered cigarettes
most guards resisted situational pressures to conform to a brutal role
suggest that Zimbardo overstated his view that SPE participants were conforming to social roles
