Research into conformity to social roles- Zimbardo

Question 1

Stanford Prison experiment procedure

Answer 1

24 ppts, assigned to either a ‘prisoner’ or ‘guard’ role

Prisoners unexpectedly ‘arrested’ at home and given a uniform and ID numbers, which the guards referred to them by

Prisoners allowed 2 visits a week and meals each day

Guards were given guard uniforms, reflective sunglasses, clubs and whistles

Planned to last 2 weeks

Zimbardo played the role of a ‘ prison superintendant’

Question 2

Stanford prison experiment findings

Answer 2

Guards became tyrannical and abusive
-Forced prisoners to clean toilets with their hands, along with other degrading activities
-Guards enjoyed it so much that some stayed for extra unpaid hours

The ppts seemed to forget it was a study, and continued to act the same way even when they thought they weren’t being watched

Question 3

What key unexpected things happened during this study?

Answer 3

5 prisoners were released early due to extreme reactions after just 2 days

The study was terminated after just 6 days

Question 4

Conclusions of the Stanford prison experiment

Answer 4

Both guards and prisoners conformed to their social roles

Guards became increasingly sadistic and cruel

Prisoners became increasingly passive and accepting of the situation

Question 5

AO3 -

Unethical

Answer 5

There was a lack of protection from harm

5 prisoners left early due to extreme reactions to the physical and mental torment

Many guards reported feeling anxious afterwards

Zimbardo acknowledges that the study should have been called off earlier; debriefing ppts afterwards was not enough

Question 6

AO3 -

Reicher and Haslam’s study contradicts Zimbardo

Answer 6

Challenged the belief that the guards automatically drift in to sadistic behaviours due to their social role

The guards in his study refused to impose their authority

The prisoners in his study didn’t accept their role and instead resisted against the guards

This CONTRADICTS Zimbardo- it suggests that conformity to social roles is not automatic

Question 7

AO3 -

Individual differences

Answer 7

The behaviour of the guards varied dramatically between individuals

Some were sadistic, whilst some even helped the prisoners

Therefore there are dispositional (internal) factors as well as situational ones

(This challenges Zimbardo’s belief that situational factors are the cause of conformity

Question 8

AO3 -

Demand characteristics

Answer 8

Other researchers presented a similar study to students who had never heard of the study.

The majority of the students guessed the aim of the study

This suggests that the ppts behaviour could have been because they worked out what Zimbardo wanted to find out