Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment:

Zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University
Students were asked to volunteer and were randomly allocated into prisoner or guard roles
Prisoners were arrested at their homes, taken to prison, stripped, deloused and given uniforms
The guards were also given a uniform and given the task of enforcing a set of behaviour rules which they could set themselves
During the beginning of the experiment the guards relished their roles, removing privileges such as reading/writing letters when prisoners misbehaved
However as time went on guards became more brutal with their punishments. Punishments included the loss of food/sleep/blankets/washing facilities, cleaning toilets with bare hands and solitary confinement
For most of the time, prisoners obeyed, however one began a hunger strike. He was put into solitary confinement and rejected by other prisoners
One prisoner was released due to 'acute emotional disturbance' and another due to a psychosomatic rash
The experiment was designed to last two weeks however had to be ended after 6 days
Participants quickly conformed to their roles. Good guards were tough, aggressive and arrogant
Prisoners rapidly conformed in order to avoid nasty punishment
The experiment shows the power and potency of social influence. The participants became the role they were playing
Zimbardo had some control over the variables like the selection of participants. Emotionally stable individuals were chosen and randomly assigned to roles in order to rule out individual personality differences as an explanation for findings. This is a strength because it increases internal validity
It was argued that participants were play acting rather than genuinely conforming. They conformed to stereotypes and roles they had seen on TV rather than actual guard roles
Actually only a minority of guards behaved in a brutal manner. Some were keen on applying rules fairly and others actively tried to help and support the prisoners
Not a reliable experiment - participants given little indication on how to behave whereas in real life guards would be given more guidance and would be trained
Huge ethical issues

	Created by Caitlyn Grayston over 7 years ago

AS level Psychology (Conformity) Note on Social Roles, created by Caitlyn Grayston on 12/05/2017.

Social Roles