Zimbardo a03

Question 1

• Demand characteristics

Answer 1

P- One limitation of Zimbardo’s experiment is that the ppts were aware it was an experiment, and may display demand characteristics
E- E.g. ppts may have changed their behavior to meet the presumed hypothesis of the experiment in response to being observed, e.g. guards playing the role more harshly
E- This means that the findings may not be reflective of real-life situations since the situation was artificial and the ppts knew that
L- This reduces internal and external validity

Question 2

• Culture bound sample

Answer 2

P- A limitation is that the sample is limited
E- The sample consisted of all male American students, therefore cannot be generalized to anyone of other genders or cultures
E- For example, in collectivist cultures e.g. China or Japan, people may be more conformist to their social roles because of the less self-occupied culture
L- This suggests findings are culture-bound and lack population validity

Question 3

+ Real-life application

Answer 3

P- Advantage is real life application
E- The research changed the way US prisons are run e.g. young prisoners are kept from adult prisoners to prevent behavior perpetrating like the ppts in SPE conforming to their role as they saw their peers do
E- Beehive- style prisons are no longer used due to institutionalisation and to prevent mental stress seen in SPE
L- This increases the external validity and applicability