Zimbardo And The SPE Flashcards

1
Q

What was zimbardos aim

A

To see if conformity was due to social roles

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2
Q

Describe the SPE set up

A

Mock prison in university basement
21 male students, randomly assigned role of guard or prisoners
Wore uniforms and had numbers to deindividualise

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3
Q

What happened in the SPE

A

Guards played prisoners off against each other
Became sadistic and cruel
Degraded prisoners
Prisoners initially rebelled but then became anxious and depressed. Some developed psychological disturbance
Experiment ends 10 days early

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4
Q

What was a strength of zimbardos research

A

Control over key variables

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5
Q

What was a limitation of zimbardos research

A

No realism - therefore prisoners were acting like stereotypes so doesn’t explain conformity

Exaggeration of social roles - only 1/3 were brutal, another third fair and another third on prisoners side

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6
Q

What was a huge issue with the experiment

A

Ethics
Denied right to withdraw
Huge deception
Not humane / sadistic

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7
Q

What was the investigator bias in the SPE

A

Zimbardo was assigned the role of prison warden and became too immersed in the role

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