ZIMBARDO (CONFORMITY) - A01 Flashcards
What did Zimbardo do?
-Held an experiment at a mock prison, in Stanford university to study the effect of memory.
-21 male volunteers, they had to be emotionally stable, randomly allocated to be guard or soldier.
What was the procedure of ZImbardo’s experiment?
-the social roles were encouraged by two behaviours:
1) uniform- given numbers (de- Individuation). Guards enforced rules.
2) instructions about behaviour- prisoners were told they cannot leave but can ask for parole. Guards had full control of prisoners.
How did the particpants act in the end?
- the guards played their roles enthusiastically and punished prisoners.
-prisoners rebelled in two days.
-experiment was supposed to be 2 weeks, only lasted 6 days.
Guards were threatening prisoners.
Three prisoners left early after showing signs of psychological damage.
They DID conform to their social roles.
What were the conclusions?
-social roles have powerful influence on behaviours, most conformed strongly to their role.
-guards became brutal, prisoners became submissive.
-others (such as chaplain) also conformed to their roles easily.
