Lesson 4: Conformity to social roles Flashcards
What are social roles? (AO1)
The BEHAVIOURS expected from an individual who occupies a social POSITION or STATUS.
What can people do to the social roles assigned to them?
Conform to the social roles
Who investigated conformity into social roles?
Zimbardo (1973)
Outline the procedure of Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment
1) Simulated Prison was created in the basement of the Stanford university psychology department
2) 24 emotionally+ psychologically stable MEN were RECRUITED and RANDOMLY assigned the role of prisoner or guard
3) Guards had COMPLETE CONTROL over the prisoners except for: meals, toilet privileges, headcounts and work.
4)Guards were told to maintain order using any means necessary EXCEPT for violence
(Findings) What happened on the 2nd day of the study?
The prisoners tried to REBEL- ripped off their prison numbers and barricaded themselves in their cell
(Findings) What did the guards do in response?
They sprayed them with CARBON DIOXIDE, stripped them NAKED, took away their BEDS and forced ring leaders into SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
(Findings) What happened to the guards during the course of the experiment?
Guards became INCREASINGLY cruel and AGGRESSIVE, creating a BRUTAL ATMOSPHERE
(Findings) What happened to the prisoners during the course of the experiment?
Prisoners became PASSIVE and DEPRESSED as the guards used VERBAL ABUSE, pushed them into urinals + left them in a pitch black cupboard for HOURS
What happened to the study as a result of the guards EXCESSIVE aggression?
- Study ended after 6 DAYS despite the INTENDED duration being 2 WEEKS.
-This is due to concerns about the psychological health of the prisoners
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of the Stanford prison experiment
(HINT: highly unethical)
-the study was highly UNETHICAL as the prisoners were subjected to PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM
5 prisoners had to be released EARLY because of their EXTREME REACTIONS e.g crying, rage + acute anxiety.
HOWEVER…
Zimbardo did not expect the guards to behave in the way they did so this harm could not have be anticipated.
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of the Stanford prison experiment
(HINT: prison warden, objectivity)
- 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.
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of the Stanford prison experiment
(HINT: unrepresentative sample)
The sample = 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)
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of the Stanford prison experiment
(HINT: demand characteristics)
The guards 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.
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of the Stanford prison experiment
(HINT: individual differences)
Some guards did not CONFORM to the roles given and were RELUCTANT to be cruel 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.
