~The Stanford Prison Experiment

Question 1

What traits did they look for when choosing samples for the experiment?

Answer 1

Normal” sample, low in personality traits like aggression and authoritarianism

Question 2

Zimbardo believed it was the ___ not the ___.

Answer 2

situation // person

Question 3

What was Zimbardo setting out to prove with his experiment?

Answer 3

He was setting out to show is that instances of like abuse of power and cruelty and things along those lines are the type of thing that you could see in anyone placed in the right situation. He did this to draw attention to his desire for prison reform.

Question 4

What was one reason the prisoners acted like they did?

Answer 4

They eventually sank into this state of helplessness and emotional distress as a result of their treatment.

Question 5

How did researchers play a part ini the Prison Guards behaviour?

Answer 5

• Researchers coached the guards, including specific tactics for how to mistreat the prisoners and create a sense of powerlessness, and told participants the results that they were expecting to find
• Fostered in-group identity, framing guards as collaborators (Recall the role of social identification in interpreting Milgram’s findings)
• Emphasized the moral objectives of the project (prison reform)
• Explicitly corrected guards who weren’t beiing “tough enough”

Question 6

How many guards displayed actual cruelty and aggression?

Answer 6

Only 1/3 did, the others were half-assing it

Question 7

Framing cruelty as an ___ of the situation overlooks the ___ that foster it.

Answer 7

inevitable outcome // systems