Social influence: key studies (zimbardo)

Question 1

What was the aim of zimbardos study?

Answer 1

-to investigate wether if assigned roles within a society would they conform to the roles

Question 2

What was the sample of zimbardos study?

Answer 2

-24 emotionally stable men
-american university students (Yale)

Question 3

What was the procedure of zimbardos study?

Answer 3

-students psychoanalysed before going into the study
-basement of the uni turned into a prison
-randomly assigned guards or prisoners
-prisoners taken from their home in the middle of night and taken to prison (they were liced and given identity numbers) dehumanising them
-guards wore mirrored glasses
(taking away human interaction from prisoners
-guards were told to keep control but to not harm the prisoners

Question 4

Why did zimbardo have a dual role?

Answer 4

-he had the role of being superintendent as well as observing the study

Question 5

What did zimbardo find?

Answer 5

-guards behaviour became increasingly brutal
-prisoners rebelled (1 went on hunger strike)
-gaurds retaliated back (waking them up in the middle of the night)
-resulted in 3 prisoners leaving due to psychological harm
-study lasted 6 days was supposed to last 14 days

Question 6

What were some strengths to the study?

Answer 6

-good control over the variables (radomly assigned roles and psychologically tested) increasing internal validity

Question 7

What were some negatives to the study?

Answer 7

-demand characteristics (one guard said he was acting up)
-investigator effects (zimbardo having a dual role) clear from the records he influenced guards to be aggressive