conformity to social roles- Zimbardo's research

Question 1

social roles definition

Answer 1

the ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups. everyday examples include parent, child, student and so one. these are accompanied by expectations we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role, for example caring, obedient

Question 2

outline Orlando 1973 study of a mock psychiatric ward

Answer 2

-the mock psychiatric ward was active for 3 days
-51 staff members of the psychiatric ward took part where 29 volunteered as mock patients and 22 worked their normal jobs

Question 3

results and conclusion of Orlando’s mock psychiatric ward study

Answer 3

-mock patients quickly began acting like normal hospital patients, so conformed to their roles
-lots of patients showed signs of having withdrawal and depression
-six attempted to escape the ward
-some patients admitted to feelings of lost identity

Question 4

analysis of Orlando’s 1973 mock psychiatric ward study

Answer 4

-gave insight into real patients experiences in hospital
-influenced hospital staff to emphasis more with patients

Question 5

sample of stanford prison experiment

Answer 5

24 men who were student volunteers

Question 6

when was Stanford prison experiment

Answer 6

1973

Question 7

why did Zimbardo do stanford prison experiment

Answer 7

many prison riots in America and Zimbardo wanted to why prison guards behave brutally, was it sadistic personality or social role

Question 8

outline stanford prison experiment

Answer 8

Zimbardo set up mock prison in basement of psychology department at Stanford university. they selected 24 male student volunteers who responded to a newspaper advert, they were tested as ‘emotionally stable’. the students were randomly assigned to play the role of the prisoner or prison guard. they were encouraged to conform to social roles through uniforms and instructions about behaviour

Question 9

what were the uniforms in SPE

Answer 9

-prisoners –> loose smock and cap to cover hair, identified with a number (names were never used)
-guards –> own uniform reflecting status of the role, with wooden clubs, handcuffs and mirror shades

Question 10

why were uniforms used in SPE

Answer 10

creates a loss of personality (de-individalisation) which meant they were more likely to conform to perceived social role

Question 11

how were instructions and behaviour used in SPE

Answer 11

allowed them to further identify with their roles. for example, rather than leaving study early, prisoners could apply for parole. the guards were encouraged to play their role by being reminded they had complete power over the prisoners

Question 12

how did the prisoners in SPE show they identified with their role

Answer 12

-within 2 days the prisoners rebelled, they ripped of uniforms and swore at the guards
-after the rebellion was put down, the prisoners became subdued, depressed and anxious
-one was released as showed symptoms of psychological disturbance
-two more were released on the 4th day
-one prisoner went on hunger strike and was punched by being put in ‘the hole’ in a tiny dark closet

Question 13

how did the guards in SPE show they identified with their role

Answer 13

-guards took up their roles with enthusiasm
-retaliated to the prisoners rebellion by retaliating with fire extinguishers
-when a prisoner went on hunger strike they tried to force feed him and then put him in ‘the hole’ in a tiny dark closet
-used the ‘divide-and-rule’ tactics by playing the prisoners off against each other.
-they harassed prisoners constantly to remind them of their powerless role. for example, they would conduct head counts frequently, sometimes at night, when the prisoners would stand in line and call out their numbers. the guards highlighted the differences in social roles by creating opportunities to enforce the rules and administer punishments
-the guards identified more closely with the role and behaviour became increasing more brutal and aggressive , with some appearing to enjoy the power over prisoners

Question 14

what conclusions related to social roles did SPE show

Answer 14

-social roles appear to have a strong influence on the individual behaviour, demonstrated by the guards becoming brutal and prisoners submissive
-such roles were easily taken on by all participants, even volunteers who came in to perform specific functions found themselves behaving as in a prison not a psychological study

Question 15

when did SPE end

Answer 15

after 6 days instead of 14

Question 16

when was SPE

Answer 16

1973

Question 17

strength of zimbardo’s research on conformity - control

Answer 17

-strength of SPE is Zimbardo has control over key variables
-an example of this is selection of participants. emotionally-stable individuals were chosen and randomly assigned to the roles of guards and prisoner. this is one way researchers ruled out individual personality differences as an explanation of the findings. is guards and prisoners behaved very differently, but were in those roles by chance, then their behaviour must have been due to the role itself –> this degree of control increases internal validity of the study, so we can be much more confident in drawing conclusions about influence of roles on conformity

Question 18

limitation of SPE - lack of realism

Answer 18

-SPE did not have the realism of a true prison
-Banuzizi and Movahedi (1975) argues the participants performances were based on stereotypes of how prisoners and guards are supposed to behave. for example a guard claimed they based his role on a brutal character from the film cool hand luke. this would also explain why prisoners rioted as they thought that is what real prisoners did –> suggests findings of SPE tell us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons

Question 19

strength of SPE - counterpoint to lack of realism

Answer 19

-Dermott (2019) argues the participants behaved as if the prison was real to them. for example 90% of prisoners conversations were about prison life. amoungst themselves they discussed how it was impossible to leave SPE before their ‘sentences’ were over. prisoner 416 later explained how they believed the prison was a real one, but run by psychologists rather than the government –> suggests SPE did replicate the social roles of prisoners and guards in a real prison, giving the study a high degree of internal validity

Question 20

limitation of SPE- exaggerates the power of roles

Answer 20

-Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behaviour (Fromm 1973)
-for example, only 1/3 of guards actually behaved in a brutal manner. another 1/3 tried to apply rules fairly. the rest actively tried to help and support the prisoners. they sympahised, offered cigarettes and reinstated privileges (zimbardo 2007). most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal role –> suggests Zimbardo overstated his view that SPE participants were conforming to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors such as personality

Question 21

evaluation of SPE - alternative explanation

Answer 21

-Zimbardo’s explanation for the guards and prisoners behaviour was conforming to a social role comes naturally and easily. being given the role of the guard means participants will inevitably behave brutally because that is the behaviour expected of someone with that role
-Reicher and Haslam (2006) criticise Zimbardo’s explanation because it does not account for the behaviour of the non-brutal guards. they used social identity theory instead to argue the guards had to actively identify with their social roles as they did