Zimbardo Flashcards
What year was Zimbardo’s study?
1973
What was Zimbardo’s aim?
To examine whether people would conform to the social roles of a prison guard or prisoner
Where did it take place?
Stanford university basement
What was his sample?
21 male volunteers responding to newspaper ad, selected on basis of their physical and mental stability
Paid $15 a day
Randomly assigned to either prisoner or guard
What happened with the prisoners?
Arrested by real police at home unexpectedly, fingerprinted, stripped, chained around ankles, given numbered smock to wear
What happened with the guards?
Given uniforms, dark reflective sunglasses, handcuffs and truncheon
Instructed to run prison without violence
Results?
All ppts quickly identified with their roles, prisoners rebelled, guards crushed rebellion and grew increasingly abusive towards prisoners, prisoners became increasingly submissive
What went wrong?
Five prisoners released because of adverse reactions due to mental and physical torment
Study was terminated after 6 days
What did Zimbardo conclude?
People quickly conform to social roles, even when it goes against their morals
Concluded that situational factors were largely responsible for this behaviour
Research support?
Reicher and Haslam (2006)- randomly assigned 15 men to either guard or prisoner, ppts didn’t conform automatically, guards refused to impose authority
Contradicts Zimbardo’s findings
Individual differences?
Behaviour of guards varied dramatically, from extremely sadistic behaviour to a few good guards who helped the prisoners
Suggests that situational factors are not the only factors that affect conformity to social roles
Ethical issues?
Ppts not protected from harm- 5 prisoners left experiment early due to extreme stress
Some guards reported feelings of anxiety and guilt
Although Zimbardo followed Stanford’s ethical guidelines and debriefed ppts afterwards, he agreed it should have been stopped earlier
