Conformity to social roles: Zimbardo Flashcards
What was Zimbardo’s experiment on the conformity to social roles?
The Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE).
When did Zimbardo conduct his research?
1971.
Where did Zimbardo conduct his research?
In America, more specifically Stanford University Psychology department basement.
What prompted Zimbardo to research this area?
There were many reports of brutality in prisons across America in the late 1960s, he wanted to find out is prison guards behave brutally because of their personality or because of the environment.
Social Roles (Definition:)
The ‘parts’ people play as member of various social groups.
How were the social roles of guard and prisoner advocated?
The students were assigned randomly to the roles of guards and prisoners.
Where was the mock prison set up?
Zimbardo set up the mock prison in the basement of the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University.
How did Zimbardo select the participants for his study?
He advertised for students willing to volunteer and selected those who were deemed ‘emotionally stable’ after extensive psychological testing.
Zimbardo attempted to make the mock prison as realistic as possible. How was the realism of the study initially enforced ?
The ‘prisoners’ were arrested in their homes by the local police and where then delivered to the ‘prison’. They were blindfolded, strip-searched, deloused and issued a uniform with a number.
What was the uniform for the guards?
They had guard uniforms, complete with a wooden club, handcuffs, keys and mirrored sunglasses.
What was the function of the mirrored sunglasses?
The prisoners could not see the eyes of the guards and could only see themselves in the reflection which dehumanised the prisoners.
What was hte uniform for the prisoners?
The prisoners only wore their numbered uniforms, in addition they were only referred to by their number, not their real names.
How long into the study was it stopped?
It was stopped early, after only 6 days instead of the intended 14.
Why was the experiment stopped?
The guards behaviour became a threat to the prisoners’ psychological and physical health.
The guards took up their roles with enthusiasm, how did the prisoners act?
Within two days, the prisoners became rebellious and began to swear and shout at the guards, even ripping their uniforms.
The guards utilised ‘divide-and-rule’ tactics, what are these tactics?
They played the prisoners off each other and used them to torment each other.
One prisoner went on a a hunger strike in attempt to rebel against the authority, what was the response to this?
The guards attempted to force-feed him and then punished him by using the other prisoners to shun him.
What conclusions were formed from his research?
The simulation revealed the power of the situation to influence people’s behaviour, the guards, prisoners and researchers all conformed to their roles within the prison.
Dehumanisation (Definition:)
Degrading people by lessening of their human qualities.
Deindividualisation (Definition:)
Individuals have lower sense of personal responsibility for their actions, often due to anonymity of a crowd situation.
If prisoners misbehaved, prisoners were put in the whole, what is the hole?
A place of solitary confinement where prisoners were placed if they misbehaved.
Where was the sample collected from?
The advertisement was made to the whole Stanford student body.
What was Zimbardo’s role in the study?
He had a double role in the psychologist and the prison superintendant.
What was significant about prisoner 8612?
He was released on the first day due to extreme distress signs.
