SI - Conformity to social roles Flashcards
What question did Zimbardo et al. set out to answer in the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)?
If ‘ordinary’ people were placed in a simulated prison environment and some of them were designated as guards and some prisoners, how would they behave in their new social roles?
What experiment is Zimbardo (Haney et al.) known for?
Stanford Prison Experiment.
Who carried out the SPE?
Haney et al.
Craig Haney, Philip Zimbardo, Curtis Banks and Carlo Prescott.
Philip Zimbardo was the lead researcher in the SPE, the reference for the study has Craig Haney’s name first.
What was the aim of the SPE?
To observe the interaction between the two groups in the absence of an obvious authority figure.
When was the SPE carried out?
1973
Explain the procedure of the SPE:
- Mock prison set up in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford Uni in California, USA.
- Male student volunteers were psychologically and physically screened and the 24 most stable of these were randomly assigned to either play the role of ‘prisoner’ or ‘guard’.
- The prisoners were unexpectedly arrested at home and on entry to the ‘prison’ they were put through a delousing procedure, given a prison uniform and assigned an ID number.
- The guards only referred to the prisoners by these numbers throughout the study.
- Prisoners were allowed certain rights, including 3 meals and 3 supervise toilet trips a day and 2 visits per week.
- Participants who were allocated the role of guards were given uniforms, clubs, whistles and wore reflective sunglasses (to prevent eye contact).
- Zimbardo took the role of Prison Superintendent.
How long was the SPE planned to last?
2 weeks
How many subjects were in the SPE? Were they male of female?
24 male
What type of sampling was used to get participants for the SPE?
Volunteer
What conclusion can be drawn from the SPE?
Conformity to social roles is very powerful.
Both prisoners and guards conformed to their social roles.
What could have been caused as a result of Zimbardo playing a part in the SPE?
Investigator effects.
How long did the SPE last?
6 days
Why did the SPE stop?
Following the intervention of postgraduate student Christina Maslach (later to become Zimbardo’s wife) who reminded the researchers that this was a psychological study and, as such, did not justify the abuse meted out to the participants.
An outsider (Zimbardo’s girlfriend at the time) threatened to call the police.
What can you say about how realistic the SPE was?
Lacks mundane realism.
What symptoms were among prisoners in the SPE?
PTSD, anxiety disorders and depression.
What happened during the first few days of the SPE?
The guards grew increasingly tyrannical and abusive towards the prisoners.
What did some of the guards agree to do during the SPE?
Some of the guards were so enthusiastic in their role that they volunteered to do extra hours without pay.
What did the prisoners forget at times during the SPE?
This was only a psychological study and that they were merely acting.
How did the prisoners/guards act when they knew they weren’t being watched in the SPE?
They still conformed to their roles.
What did one prisoner in the SPE ask for when he had had enough?
‘Parole’ rather than asking to withdraw from the study.
How many prisoners had to be released early from the SPE and why?
5 because of their extreme reactions (e.g. crying, rage and acute anxiety) - symptoms that had started to appear after just 2 days.
Over the course of the SPE, how did the behaviours of the guards and prisoners change?
Guards became increasingly cruel and sadistic.
Prisoners became increasingly passive and accepting of their plight.
Who carried out a follow up study to Zimbardo’s SPE?
Reicher and Haslam, 2006.
The BBC Prison Study.
Describe the procedure of Reicher and Haslam’s (2006) Prison experiment:
Like the SPE, the BBC study randomly assigned men to the role of guard or prisoner and examined their behaviour within a specially created ‘prison’.
15 male participants were divided into 5 groups of 3 people who were as closely matched as possible on key personality variables, and from each group of 3, one person was randomly chosen to be a guard and the other 2 prisoners.
The study was to run for 8 days.
