Social influence - Zimbardo and conformity to social roles Flashcards
social role
how you’re expected to behave based on your role in society/situations
what did Zimbardo want to investigate?
how people conform to social roles
what was happening in America in the 60s that made Zimbardo want to look into this?
police brutality in prisons
what was Zimbardo’s main question?
do prison guards behave brutally because they have sadist personalities, or is it the situation which creates this behaviour?
what was Zimbardo’s experiment?
mock prison in Stanford universities basement. randomly allocated students who volunteered the role of guard and the role of prisoner. 2 weeks long
what does Zimbardo argue?
it’s the situation that makes people act the way they do rather than their disposition.
what was the sample of Zimbardo’s experiment?
- 22 participants
- all male
- all college students
- strangers to each other
- ethnocentric sampling bias
- white
- recruited through newspaper ad
how were costumes used to uphold the social roles in the prison?
guards wore khaki uniforms, carried battons and wore reflective sunglasses (dehumanising them).
prisoners wore smocks with id number, a chain on their leg and a cap covering their hair (emasculating and dehumanising them)
what were the results of the Stanford Prison Experiment?
all qualitative data, the experiment disintegrated very quickly. on the second day prisoners organised a revolt and riot. guards worked extra hours to stop the riot.
what were the effects of the experiment on the prisoners?
pathological prisoner syndrome.
half of the participants had to leave the experiment early due to signs of depression, anxiety, etc.
flattened mood
dependency
passivity
what were the effects of the experiment on the prison guards?
pathology of power.
many enjoyed the power of the uniform
punishing prisoners with little justification
redefining rights of prisoners as privileges
some volunteered to work extra for no pay
what did Zimbardo do ‘wrong’ in his study to cause ethical issues?
right to withdraw and protection of participants
what were strengths of the Stanford Prison Experiment?
+ real life evidence from the Abu Gharib prison in Iraq
+ even when unaware of being watched, behaviour in the SPE still conformed to their roles. one prisoner asked for ‘parole’ rather than withdrawal.
+ selected ‘normal’ people so rules out individual differences as an explanation?
what were the limitations of the Stanford Prison Experiment?
- only a third of the guards acted brutally, most sympathised with prisoners, showing only certain people act evil in an evil environment
- Zimbardo played a dual role of researcher and prison superintendent, made it seem real causing more distress in prisoners
- Zimbardo gave the participants a clear way in which he wanted them to behave (demand characteristics?)
how many days did the SPE last?
6
