Role play

Question 1

In some investigations participants are required to take on a certain role and then their behaviour can be observed as if it were everyday life. What is this approach called

Answer 1

Role-play

Question 2

What sort of observation is role-play?

Answer 2

It is a controlled observation

Question 3

What are the strengths of role-play

Answer 3

It allows researchers to study behaviour which might otherwise be impractical or unethical to observe

Question 4

Give an example of where role-play has been used where it would have been an ethical to observe

Answer 4

Zimbardos Stanford prison study where students were asked to play the role of prison guards or prisoners.

Question 5

What was the outcome of the Zimbardos role-play at Stanford prision

Answer 5

The behaviour of the students who were asked to play the role of prison guards became on invariably domineering and aggressive so the exercise was called off

Question 6

What is the weakness of role-play

Answer 6

It is not certain whether people really do act as the way they would in everyday life in the Stanford prison study participants acting as guards may have been following what they thought was Guard -like behaviour from their experience of Hollywood films