Zimbardo's research Flashcards
what was the procedure of the stanford prison experiment
zimbardo et al (1973) set up a mock prison in the basement of the psych dept at stanford university
21 student men volunteers were selected and then randomly assigned the social role of guard or prisoner
what were the uniforms
prisoners were given a loose smock and were identified by only a number
the guards had their own uniform reflecting the status of their role, with handcuffs and shades
these uniforms created deindividualization and meant they were more likely to conform to the social role assigned
what were the instructions about behaviour
prisoners could ‘apply for parole’
guards were encouraged to play their role by being reminded that they had complete power over their prisoners
what were the findings related to social roles
the guards took up their roles with enthusiasm, treating the prisoners harshly
within two days, the prisoners rebelled
guards used ‘divide-and-rule’ tactics by playing the prisoners off against eachother
prisoners became subdued, depressed and anxious, one was released early
guards became increasingly brutal and aggressive
zimbardo even became immersed in his ‘role’
study ended after 6 days instead of 14
what are the conclusions related to social roles
social roles appear to have a strong influence on an individuals’ behaviour
guards became brutal, prisoners submissive
such roles were taken on easily
how was there control in the study (strength)
emotionally stable individuals were chosen and randomly assigned to their role
this ruled out individual dispositional differences as an explanation of the findings, meaning their behaviour is due to the role itself
degree of control over variables increases internal validity
how is there lack of realism in the study (limitation)
banuazizi and movahedi (1975) argued the participants were merely play acting rather than conforming to a role
participants’ performances were based on their stereotypes of how prisoners and guards are supposed to behave
one of the guards claimed he based his role on a brutal character from a film (demand characteristics)
this suggests that the findings tell us little about conformity to social roles in real life situations
how did zimbardo exaggerate the power of social roles (limitation)
only 1/3 of the guards actually behaved in a brutal manner
another 1/3 tried to apply the rules fairly
rest tried to actively help and support the prisoners with sympathy
suggests that zimbardo overstated his view that participants were conforming to social roles and undervalued dispositional factors
what is an alternate explanation for the conformity to social roles
zimbardo explained that conforming to a social role comes ‘naturally’ and people will inevitably behave in the way that is expected in that role
however, reicher and haslam (2006) criticise this as it does not account for the behaviour of the non brutal guards
they use social identity theory instead, arguing that the guards had to actively identity with their social roles to act as they did
