zimbardo’s study

Question 1

what study did zimbardo conduct?

Answer 1

standford prison experiment

Question 2

what was the baseline procedure?

Answer 2

mock prison roleplay. 21 male volunteers who were randomly assigned as prisoners and guards. prisoners - loose smock and cap. guards - own uniform, handcuffs, mirror shades.

Question 3

what was his aim?

Answer 3

to examine whether the behaviour displayed in prisons was due to internal dispositional factors, the people themselves or external situational factors.

Question 4

what were his findings?

Answer 4

the guards were too serious in their role which lead to prisoners rebelling. guards became physically brutal. highlighted differences in social roles by creating opportunities to enforce rules and punishments. a few prisoners developed depression and anxiety. his study ended after 6 days instead of 14.

Question 5

what did he conclude?

Answer 5

social roles have a strong influence on individuals’ behaviour. guards became dominant and prisoners submissive, situational factors responsible - prisoners stable prior.

Question 6

one strength

Answer 6

P: control over key variables. E: randomly selected pts and assigned roles randomly. T: researchers could rule out individual differences as an explanation to the findings.
also gave explanation that if guards and prisoners behaved differently despite role then beh is due to the role itself.
increased internal validity.

Question 7

one weakness

Answer 7

P:lacks realism. E: Banuazizi and Movahedi argued pts were more so play-acting rather than genuinely conforming. behaviours were based on stereotypes. T:get a clear understanding as to why prisoners rebelled but does suggest the experiment actually tells us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons.

Question 8

Mark Mcdermott

Answer 8

argues pts did behave as if the prison was real. e.g. 90% of their convos were about prison life. one prisoner also explained how he believed the prison was real but ran by psychologists rather than gov.
shows that the experiment replicates social roles increasing internal validity

Question 9

Reicher et al

Answer 9

gave a theoretical perspective saying that the pts weren’t conforming to designated roles but some identified to obey zimbardo. e.g. in a recording between one of the prisoners and one guard the guard tries to persuade the prisoner to be rough and firm, however it was shown that the prisoner resisted attempts. didn’t generalise for all guards. in terms, of zimbardo, he set ground rules on how they all should behave at the start :- shows authority