Conformity To Social Roles Flashcards
(8 cards)
Who researched conformity to social roles? What did he want to find?
Zimbardo
Whether the prison riots in America were due to sadistic personalities or a social role
What the the experiment? Procedure
Set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology department.
Select 21 male students who volunteered and tested as ‘emotionally stable’, then were randomly assigned roles- prison guards or prisoners.
Both were encouraged to conform to social roles through uniforms and behaviour instructions.
UNIFORM
Prisoners wore a loose smock and cap and were identified by numbers.
Guards had their uniforms reflecting the status of their role with clubs, handcuffs and shades.
This created de-individualisation, meaning they are more likely to conform to the perceived role.
BEHAVIOUR
Prisoners encouraged to identify with the role by several procedures- rather than leaving study early, prisoners could apply for parole. The guards were encouraged to play their role by being reminded they had completed their power
What did Zimbardo find
Guards took to their role with enthusiasm, treating prisoners harshly. In 2 days, prisoners rebelled(rip uniform, shout and swear), guards retaliated with fire extinguishers.
Guards used divide and rule tactics by playing prisoners against each other, harassed prisoners constantly, reminded them of their powerlessness and highlighted differences in roles by creating opportunities to enforce rules and punishments.
After the rebellion, prisoners became subdued, depressed, nd anxious.
Some prisoners were released: one due to psychological distress, two more on the fourth day for the same reason.
One prisoner went on a hunger strike, and the guard tried to force-feed him and punished him by putting him in a dark, small closet- the hole.
Guards identified much more with their role, behaviour bringing increasingly disturbing and brutal, and some enjoyed the power.
Research was shut down eight days early, just six days in.
What did Zimbardo conclude
Social roles have a strong influence on behaviour.
Guards became brutal, prisoners submissive, even volunteers who came in for a specific role found themselves behaving as if in a prison.
PEE
strength
control
P: Zimbardo has control over key variables
E: for example, selection of participants- being emotionally stable and the role being random means individual differences. If guards and prisoners behaved differently, not chosen by chance, behaviour must be a result of the role.
E: increases internal validity
PEE
limitation
lack realism
P: didn’t have the realism of a real prison
E: BANUAZIZI and MOVAHEDI- participants were play acting and their performance was based on stereotypes, one guard claimed he based his behaviour on a movie character and why prisoners rebelled
E: Findings tell us little about actual conformity to social roles in prison
PEE
Counter to the lack of realism
P: participants behaved as if the prison were real to them
E: Most of the prisoners ‘ conversations on prison life and how they can’t leave until the end of their sentence(the 14 days), one prisoner, 416, said he believed it was a real prison run by psychologists
E: It does replicate real prisoners and has high internal validity
PEE
Limitation
Exaggerates the power of roles
P: Zimbardo exaggerated the power of roles to influence behaviour
E: Only 1/3 guards behaved brutally, another 1/3 applied rules fairly, and the rest helped and supported prisoners, giving cigarettes, sympathising and reinstating privileges. Most of the Guards resisted the pressure of conformity
E: Zimbardo overstates the view that his participants conformed to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors
