Social influence: Zimbardo's social roles Flashcards
Who studied conformity to social roles?
Zimbardo et al
What did Zimbardo do to study effects of social roles on conformity?
Set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University
Who were the ppts in Zimbardo’s study?
21 male student volunteers who were emotionally stable determined by psychological testing and randomly allocated to role of prisoner or guard
What was the procedure of Zimbardo’s study in regards to the prisoners?
They were arrested from homes, strip searched and given uniform with number. Daily routines were heavily regulated with 16 rules to follow.
What was the procedure of Zimbardo’s study in regards to the guards?
They were given a uniform, glasses and went on shift 3 at a time with strict order to control over the prison
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study in regards to the prisoners?
Within 2 days the prisoners rebelled, ripped their uniforms and shouted at guards. Became anxious and depressed, 3 released early due to signs of psych disturbance and 1 even went on hunger strike
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study in regards to the guards?
The guards harassed the prisoners constantly and conducted frequent head counts sometimes even in the middle of the night
When did Zimbardo’s study end?
The study had to be stopped after 6 days rather than the planned 14
What were the conclusions of Zimbardo’s study?
The experiment revealed the power of the situation to influence people’s behaviour because the guards and prisoners all conformed to their roles in prison
What is the strength of Zimbardo’s study that suggests there is control over key variables?
- Emotionally stable ppts were recruited and randomly allocated the role of guard or prisoner meaning that they had the roles only by chance.
- The behaviour was due to the role itself and not their personalities
- Increases internal validity so we have more confidence drawing conclusions about the effect of social roles on conformity
What key variables were controlled in Zimbardo’s study?
Emotionally stable ppts selected and random allocation
What is the limitation of Zimbardo’s study that suggests it lacked realism?
- Banuazizi + Mohavedi suggests that the ppts were acting and their performance reflected stereotypes of how prisoners and gaurds are supposed to behave.
- One guard based his role on a character from the film ‘Cool Hand Luke’.
- Prisoners rioted because they thought that this is what real prisoners did.
- This suggests that the SPE tells us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons.
What did Banuazizi + Mohavedi suggest about Zimbardo’s study?
The ppts were acting based on stereotypes and one guard based his role on a character from ‘Cool Hand Luke’
What is the limitation of Zimbardo’s study that suggests the power of roles was exaggerated?
- Only 1/3 of guards behaved brutally, 1/3 applied rules fairly and rest supported prisoners by giving them cigarettes and privileges.
- Suggests that SPE overstates the view that the guards were conforming to brutal role and dispositional influences were minimised
What is the limitation that Zimbardo’s study has ethical issues?
- Prisoners were arrested from their homes which caused embarassment and then in prison, the conditions were harsh and caused psychological harm.
- Zimbardo was involved in research himself which meant he became too involved and caused a conflict of interest.
- Ppts were not protected and can damage his reputation.
