Zimbardo et al (1973) Flashcards
Zimbardo et al set up a mock prison to see
if people would conform to the assigned roles of prisoner or guard
Zimbardo et al date
1973
Zimbardo et al study name
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Method: what gender were the students?
male
Method: the participants were
randomly assigned the role of either prisoner or guard
Method: the idea was to monitor their behaviour to see
how they would behave in these roles
Method: the participants were screened so
only the most mentally and physically stable took part
Method: the prisoners were ‘arrested’ at home and
went through complete police procedure before going to ‘prison’
Method: prisoners
given slacks and a number instead of a name
Method: guard
given a uniform and mirrored glasses
Results: initially the guards tried to
assert authority and the prisoners resisted by sticking together
Results: the prisoners eventually became
passive and obedient (one had a breakdown and had to be released early)
Results: the guards invented
more severe and abusive punishments (starving them, making them go to the toilet in buckets, not letting them sleep)
Results: the experiment was abandoned early because
the prisoners became incredibly distressed and Zimbardo’s team started to panic
Conclusion: guards and prisoners adapted to their
social roles quickly
Conclusion: Zimbardo claims that this shows that our
social role can influence our behaviour
Conclusion: seemingly well-balanced men can become distorted and unmentally sound due to their
social role
Evaluation: the study was an
controlled observation
Evaluation: because the study was a controlled observation
there was good control over the variables
Evaluation: because the study is artificial, the results can’t be
generalised
Evaluation: in terms of ethics,
some participants found the experience very distressing
Evaluation: observer bias
Zimbardo ran the experiment himself (he was superintendent) and later admitted be became too personally involved
