Lesson 4 conformity to social roles

Question 1

What are social roles

Answer 1

Social roles are the behaviours expected of an individual who occupies a social position or status. People can conform to the social roles assigned to them.

Question 2

Zimbardo (1973) procedure

Answer 2

Zimbardo (1973) wanted to investigate whether conformity to social roles would alter a person’s behaviour. A simulated prison was created in the basement of the Stanford University Psychology department. 24 emotionally and psychologically stable young men were recruited and randomly assigned to the role of prisoner or guard. The guards had complete control over the prisoners who were confined to their cells around the clock except for meals, toilet privileges, head counts and work. The guards were told to maintain order using any means necessary, except for physical violence.

Question 3

Zimbardo (1973) findings

Answer 3

On the second day the prisoners tried to rebel, they ripped off their prison numbers and barricaded themselves in their cell. The guards sprayed them with carbon dioxide, stripped them naked, took their beds away and forced the ringleaders into solitary confinement. Over the next few days the guards became increasingly cruel and aggressive, creating a brutal atmosphere. Prisoners became passive and depressed as the guards used verbal abuse, forced them to do repeated press ups, pushed them into urinals and left them in a pitch black cupboard for hours. The guards became so aggressive that the study had to be ended after only six days (it was meant to last two weeks), because of concerns about the psychological health of the prisoners, who were showing signs of severe distress.

Question 4

Evaluation of Zimbardo (1973)

Answer 4

1. The study was highly unethical as prisoners were subjected to psychological harm. Five prisoners had to be released early because of their extreme reactions, such as crying, rage and acute anxiety. However, Zimbardo did not expect the guards to behave in the way they did so this harm could not have been anticipated.
2. Zimbardo took on the role of prison warden, became very involved in the experiment and lost his objectivity. He had to be told by a colleague to end the experiment because of concerns over the distress of the prisoners. This means the validity of the findings can be questioned.
3. The sample was unrepresentative as all the participants were white (with one exception), young, middle class, male students from Stanford University. Therefore, the results cannot be generalised to women (gender bias) or other cultures (cultural bias).
4. The guards in Zimbardo’s experiment may have behaved the way they did due to demand characteristics; some of the participants reported afterwards that they thought that the experimenters wanted them to behave aggressively, and this is why they behaved the way they did. This means the study is not valid.
5. Some of the guards did not conform to the role given to them and were very reluctant to become involved in cruelty towards the prisoners, whereas other guards were very abusive. This seems to suggest that individual differences are important in determining the extent to which participants will conform to social roles