The Stanford Prison Experiment Flashcards
When was the experiment conducted?
1973
Who was the experiment conducted by?
Zimbardo
What was Zimbardo’s aim?
Investigate how readily people would conform to the assigned social roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life
What role did Zimbardo play?
The superintendent in the prison
What uniform did the guards have?
Dark sunglasses
Batons
Night sticks
Whistles
Handcuffs
Sunglasses- to make eye contact with prisoners difficult
Prisoners uniform?
White smock
Number on the uniform
Nude colour tights over their heads (they were not allowed to shave their heads)
Chains on their feet
How were they assigned to being a prisoner or a guard?
A coin toss- remove selective bias
What did both uniforms create?
Deindividuation
Where were the cells built?
In the laboratory
What was the hole?
The solitary confinement area- was built in a tiny cupboard
What did they make the mock prison out of?
The basement of the psychology building
How long was the experiment meant to last and how long did it last for?
1-2 weeks
Only lasted 6 days
Who was Christina Maslach?
Brought in to interview the prisoners- confronted Zimbardo then he ended the experiment prematurely
Where did his sample come from?
An ad in the newspaper- $15 a day for 1-2 weeks
How many people applied for the experiment?
70
How were the men screened?
Personality tests
Criminal records
Background checks
No history of drugs/narcotics
Be of sound mind and body
No physical disabilities
No mental health problems- no psychological problems
Who is Dave Eshelman?
He was a guard who modelled himself as Boss Godfrey from Cool Hand Luke (an extremely violent character)
Conclusions?
The guards became brutal and the prisoners became submissive
One prisoner was released as he showed signs of psychological disturbance
2 more were released on the 4th day
One prisoner went on hunger strike
Strength of the experiment?
Coin toss- to remove selective and researcher bias
Carefully chose the ppts by carefully screening them- emotionally stable people were used
Made sure they were of sound mind and body
Increases internal validity
Weaknesses of the experiment?
Lacks realism- the ppts were acting rather than properly conforming
PPTS performances were based on stereotypes e.g. Dave Eshelman cosplayed a character from Cool Hand Luke
Counterpoint of the weakness of the experiment?
Mark McDermott argued that the ppts acted as if they prison was real to then
E.g. 90% of the prisoners conversations were about prison life
They discussed how it was impossible to leave the experiment before their sentences were over
Prisoner 416 explained how he believed the prison was real- ran by the government rather than psychologists
Suggests that the experiment was strong as it replicated the social roles of prisoners and guards in a real prison- high internal validity
Limitation of the experiment: exaggerates the power of roles?
Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behaviour
E.g. only 1/3 of the guards behaved in a brutal manner
The other 1/3 tried to apply the rules fairly
The rest tried to help and support the prisoners- they sympathises, offered cigarettes and reinstated privileges
Most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal role
Suggests that Zimbardo overstated his view that the ppts were conforming to social rules and minimised the influence of dispositional factors e.g. personality
