conformity to social roles: Zimbardo

Question 1

what was the aim of the Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 1

to find out how much people conform to the social roles of prisoner and guard in a prison situation.

Question 2

procedure of stanford prison experiment

Answer 2

1. Zimbardo and his team converted a basement at Stanford University into a fake prison.
2. 21 male students were selected from 75 participants for their mental stability and lack of antisocial tendencies.
3. These 21 participants were randomly divided into two groups: 10 ‘guards’ and 11 ‘prisoners’
4. Prisoners were arrested by real police and then subjected to real police booking procedures (e.g. fingerprinting and mug shots). They were put in cells in groups of 3 and were confined throughout the experiment.
5. Guards worked in 8 hour shifts and were instructed to refer to the prisoners by their assigned numbers rather than their names. A realistic prison routine was established with meal times, etc.
6. The prisoners wore jackets with their number on, and a chain around one ankle. Guards wore khaki uniforms, mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact, and carried handcuffs and wooden batons.
7. The study was scheduled to run for 2 weeks.

Question 3

results of the Stanford prison experiment

Answer 3

*The guards became increasingly sadistic. For example, they forced the prisoners to continually repeat their assigned numbers and made them go to the toilet in buckets in their cells.
*The prisoners became increasingly submissive. Many stopped questioning the guards behaviour and sided with the guards against rebellious prisoners
*After 35 hours, one prisoner began to “act crazy, to scream, to curse, to go into a rage that seemed out of control” and had to be released. Three other prisoners had to be released for similar reasons throughout the duration of the experiment.
*The guards’ sadism became so harmful that Zimbardo stopped the experiment after just 6 days instead of the scheduled 2 weeks.

Question 4

what did the results of the prison experiment suggest?

Answer 4

people conform to social roles to a significant extent.

Question 5

in interviews with ppts after what were they so shocked about?

Answer 5

how out-of-character their behaviour had become.

Question 6

evaluation point: practical applications

Answer 6

Zimbardo’s study demonstrates the influence of conformity to social roles, which is an important psychological insight that has resulted in useful applications in society. For example, Zimbardo’s research prompted reform in the way juvenile prisoners were treated (at least initially).

Question 7

evaluation point: questions ecological validity

Answer 7

Both the guards and prisoners knew they were taking part in a study, and so this might have affected how they behaved. For example, they might have felt they were expected to act a certain way. This is somewhat confirmed by post-study interviews: Many of the participants said they were just acting. As such, the findings of this study may not apply to real life situations.ev

Question 8

evaluation point: ethical issues

Answer 8

It’s clear the study subjected many of the participants to high levels of stress, as evidenced by the prisoner who “went crazy” and had to be released, as well as the other participants who had to be released. Further, participants did not explicitly consent to all aspects of the experiment, such as being ‘arrested’ at home.

Question 9

Evaluation point: sample bias - lacks population validity

Answer 9

Sample only contained US male students so the study’s findings can’t be applied to female prisoners or those in other countries (ethnocentric). American is an individualist culture where people are generally less conforming whereas in collectivist cultures (e.g. Asian countries) results may be different