Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo's Research

Question 1

define social roles

Answer 1

the ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups

everyday examples include parent, child, student, passenger and so on

these are accompanied by expectations we and others have on what is appropriate behaviour in each role

Question 2

what did Zimbardo do in 1970s?

Answer 2

he and his colleagues conducted one of the most memorable studies in psychology

there had been many prison riots in America and he wanted to know why prison guards behave so brutally

Question 3

what did Zimbardo do in 1973?

Answer 3

he set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychological department at Stanford university

they selected 24 men (student volunteers)

Question 4

what did the 21 men who were student volunteers test as?

Answer 4

emotionally stable

Question 5

what happened to the 21 men?

Answer 5

they were randomly assigned to play the roles of prison guard or prisoner

Question 6

how were prisoners and guards encouraged to conform to these social roles?

Answer 6

through the uniforms they worse and the instructions of their behaviour

Question 7

what were the prisoners given to wear?

Answer 7

a loose smock and a cap to cover their hair

they were identified by a number - names never used

Question 8

what were the guards given to wear?

Answer 8

uniform which reflected their status of their role , with a wooden club, handcuffs and mirror shades

this meant that they would be more likely to conform to the perceived social role

Question 9

how were the prisoners encouraged to identify with their role?

Answer 9

by several procedures :

rather than leaving the study early, prisoners could ‘apply for parole’

Question 10

what instructions were the guards given?

Answer 10

they were encouraged to play their role being reminded that they had complete power over prisoners

Question 11

how did the guards take up their roles?

Answer 11

with enthusiasm , treating the prisoners harshly

Question 12

what happened within 2 days of the study?

Answer 12

prisoners rebelled , they ripped their uniforms and swore at guards , who retaliated with fire extinguishers

Question 13

how did the guards deal with this behaviour?

Answer 13

they used the ‘divide and rule’ tactic by playing prisoners off against each other

Question 14

how else did they treat the prisoners?

Answer 14

they harassed the prisoners constantly to remind them of their powerlessness of their role

for example, they conducted frequent head counts -sometimes at night and prisoners would stand in line and call out their numbers

Question 15

what did the guards highlight?

Answer 15

differences in social roles by creating opportunities to enforce the rules and administer the punishment

Question 16

what happened after the rebellion was put down?

Answer 16

prisoners were depressed and anxious

Question 17

why were some prisoners released?

Answer 17

one was released as he showed symptoms of psychological disturbance

on the 4th day, 2 more men were released

Question 18

what happened to one of the prisoners who went on hunger strike?

Answer 18

the guards tried to force feed him , then they punished him by putting him in the ‘hole’ - a dark closet

Question 19

what was apparent in the role of the guards?

Answer 19

that they identified more and more closely with their role

their behaviour became increasingly brutal and aggressive - some appearing to enjoy the power they had over the prisoners

Question 20

what did Zimbardo do?

Answer 20

he ended the study after 6 days instead of the intended 14

Question 21

what was the conclusions about social role?

Answer 21

they have a strong influence on individuals’ behaviour , the guards became brutal and prisoners submissive

such roles were very easily taken on by all participants - even the volunteers who came in to perform specific functions found themselves behaving in a prison rather than a psychological study

Question 22

what is a strength of the SPE?

Answer 22

Zimbardo and his colleagues had control over key variables

Question 23

what was the most obvious example of this?

Answer 23

the selection of the participant being emotionally stable individuals who were chosen and randomly assigned to the roles of guard and prisoners

Question 24

why is this a strength ?

Answer 24

as individual personality differences were rules out by the researcher as an explanation for the findings

if the guards / prisoners behaved very differently but were in the roles only by chance then it would be due to the role itself

Question 25

why is it a strength also?

Answer 25

this degree of control of the variables increases the internal validity of the study

so , we can be confident when drawing conclusions about the influence of roles on conformity

Question 26

what is a limitation of this SPE?

Answer 26

it didn’t have the realism of the true prison

Question 27

what did Banuazizi and Movahedi 1975 argue?

Answer 27

that all participants were merely play acting rather than genuinely conforming to a role

• participants performance was based on their stereotypes of how prisoners and guards acted / behave

Question 28

what is an example of this?

Answer 28

one of the guards claimed that they had based his behaviour from a brutal character in COOL HAND LUKE

this explains why the prisoners rioted - as they thought this was what real prisoners did

Question 29

therefore, what does this limitation suggest?

Answer 29

that the findings of SPE tell us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons

Question 30

what did Marc McDermott 2019 argue?

Answer 30

that the participants did behave as if the prison was real to them

Question 31

why did he suggest this?

Answer 31

because 90% of prisoners’ conversations were about prison life

amongst themselves, they discussed how it was impossible to leave the SPE before their ‘sentence’ was over

also prisoner 416 later explained how he believed that prison was a real one but run by psychologists rather than the government

Question 32

therefore, what does this suggest?

Answer 32

that the SPE did replicate the social roles of prisoners and guards in a real prison - giving the study a high degree of internal validity

Question 33

what is another limitations of SPE?

Answer 33

Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behaviour (Fromm 1973)

Question 34

why would one think this?

Answer 34

• only one third of the guards behaved in a brutal manner , another third tried to apply the rules fairly , the rest actively tried to help and support the prisoners

-they sympathised, offered cigarettes and reinstated privileges - Zimbardo 2007

• most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal role

Question 35

therefore, what does this suggest ?

Answer 35

that Zimbardo overstated his view that SPE participants were conforming to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors such as personality

Question 36

what is an alternative explanation from Steve Reicher and Alex Haslam 2006?

Answer 36

they criticised Zimbardo’s explanations as it does not account for the behaviour of the non-brutal guard

they use the social identity theory instead to argue that the ‘guards’ had to actively identify with their social roles to act as they did