SI, Zimbardo

Question 1

Zimbardo’s aim

Answer 1

• investigate how readily people would conform to assigned social roles

Question 2

Zimbardo’s procedure

Answer 2

• 1973
• mock prison in basement of Stanford University
• newspaper ad
• 75 volunteered, 24 us males selected
• all tested to be ‘emotionally stable’
• randomly assigned roles of participants

Question 3

Uniform of particiants

Answer 3

• prisoners: loose smock, cap to cover hair, assigned numbers
• guards: khaki uniforms, wooden club, handcuffs, mirror sunglasses
• both contribute to deindividuation

Question 4

Findings

Answer 4

• within hours guards harassed prisoners
• 2 days, prisoners rebelled: rip clothes, swear at guards & guards retaliated with fire extinguishers
• prisoners adopted typical behaviours, snitching to guards
• ended after 6 days rather than 14

Question 5

Conclusions

Answer 5

• social roles have strong influence on individual behaviour
• power can corrupt its wielder
• prisons can exert psychological damage

Question 6

Pros of the Stanford Prison Experiment

Answer 6

• highly controlled
• high ecological validity: participants acted as if it were real, evidence, monitored private conversations & 90% were on prison conditions rather than outside life
• real-life application: practice in us prisons changing

Question 7

Cons of the Stanford Prison Experiment

Answer 7

• ethical issues: 4 participants had to leave early
• androcentric
• culturally bound
• demand characteristics