Zimbardo Research

Question 1

What was the method ?

Answer 1

.zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford university
.They selected 21 male student volunteers who tested as ‘emotionally stable’
.The students were randomly assigned to play the role of prison guard or prisoner
.Prisoners and Guards were encouraged to conform to social roles both through the uniforms they wore and also instructions about their behaviour
. The prisoners and guards were given there clothes . The uniforms created a loss of personal identity (called de-individuation), and meant they would be more like to conform to the perceived social role
.prisoners were encouraged to identify with their role by several procedures and guards were encouraged to play their role by being reminded that they had complete power over the prisoners

Question 2

What were the conclusions related to social roles ?

Answer 2

Social roles appear to have a strong influence on individuals’ behaviour. The guards became brutal and the prisoners because submissive.

Question 3

What is one strength of the Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 3

Zimbardo and his colleagues had control over key variables. The degree of control over variables increased the internal validity of the study .