Conformity to social roles- Zimbardo

Question 1

What did Zimbardo aim to study?

Answer 1

Zimbardo aimed to study whether prison guards behave brutally because of their personality or because of their social role.

Question 2

How did Zimbardo conduct the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Answer 2

• Set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University
• 24 volunteers deemed emotionally stable selected to take part
• Randomly assigned to the role of prisoner or guard (coin toss)
• Prisoners: arrested in their homes, assigned a uniform, referred to by a number
• Guards: given a uniform including mirrored glasses and a club, had complete control over prisoners
• Zimbardo = prison superintendent

Question 3

What did Zimbardo find?

Answer 3

• Both guards and prisoners settled into their roles quickly
• Guards were enthusiastic about their roles, enforcing rules and punishing prisoners e.g., waking them up in the night, making them wash the toilets with their bare hands.
• Prisoners fell into their role, asking for “parole” and also became subdued and anxious.
• Study was stopped after 6 days instead of the planned 14.

Question 4

What did Zimbardo conclude about conformity to social roles?

Answer 4

The study showed the power of social roles, because the students conformed quickly to their social roles.

Question 5

Zimbardo’s study broke several ethical issues. Which did it break and why is this a problem?

Answer 5

P: One problem is breaking of ethical issues
- Right to withdraw: one ppt asked to leave and Zimbardo responded as prison superintendent rather than a researcher, telling them that they couldn’t leave because they are a prisoner
- Protection from harm: several pts suffered adverse reactions to mental and physical torment that they experienced.
L: This is a problem because it goes against the ethical code of conduct and undermines psychology as a science.

Question 6

Why are demands characteristics a limitation of Zimbardo’s research?

Answer 6

P: :( Demand Characteristics
E/E: It has been argued that participants were ‘play-acting’ rather than genuinely conforming to social roles. One guard said that he was basing his character from one of the guards he had watched in the film ‘Cool Hand Luke’
L:This therefore lowers the validity of the findings.

Question 7

Limitation: Findings lack reliability

Answer 7

P: Zimbardo’s findings lack reliability
E: Reicher & Hallam conducted a modern day replication of the original study in the UK.
E: The findings were very different to those that Zimbardo found, with prisoners taking control of the mock prison and subjecting the guards to harassment.
L: This is a limitation because the findings are not consistent, and people might not conform to social roles in modern society.

Question 8

What practical applications does Zimbardo’s research have?

Answer 8

P: Findings can be applied to real life situations.
E/E: Zimbardo argued that the events at Abu Ghraib prison, an Iraq military prison notorious for torture and abuse by US soldiers, was similar to behaviour seen in the Stanford Prison Experiment
L: This is a strength because it suggests that evil behaviour is a result of the situation and social roles, supporting Zimbardo’s findings.