CONFORMITY: ZIMBARDOS PRISON STUDY

Question 1

what was the aim of the stanford prison experiment?

Answer 1

in the 1960s there was a lot of guard brutality reported in american prisons, Zimbardo wanted to know if it was sadistic personalities or the situation.

Question 2

what was the procedure of the stanford prison experiment?

Answer 2

zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of stanford university. he advertised for students and selected emotionally stable ones (they went through rigorous psychological evaluation). the participants were randomly assigned prisoner or guard. the prisoners were arrested from their homes by the police, blindfolded, strip-searched, deloused and given a number and uniform. the social roles were made clear, prisoners names were not to be used, only numbers. the guards were given their own uniforms, handcuffs, keys and sunglasses and were told they had full power over the prisoners.

Question 3

what were the findings of the stanford prison experiment?

Answer 3

the guards took to their roles so much that their behaviour became a threat to the prisoners psychological and physical health. within 2 days the prisoners had rebelled against the guards such as ripping their uniform, shouting and swearing. the guards harassed prisoners and punished them regularly. after rebelling, the prisoners were subdued, depressed and anxious. one of the prisoners was released on day 1 due to psychological disturbance. another prisoner went on hunger strike. the guards became very brutal and aggressive and the study had to stop after 6 days instead of 14.

Question 4

what were the conclusions of the stanford prison experiment?

Answer 4

it shows that the power of situation influences peoples behaviour and that all the guards, prisoners and researchers all conformed to their roles in the prison.