Conformity To Social Roles Flashcards
(11 cards)
A01
-Zimbardo conducted the SPE Where he wanted to experiment how people conformed to social roles
-The volunteers were arrested at home and taken to the mock prison In stanford university basement where they were searched and randomly assigned to a guard or prisoner.
-the guards were on shifts whilst the prisoners weren’t
-At the start the prisoners conformed and was submissive due to the guards behaviour such as making the prisoners clean toilet
bowls with their bare hands, taking away their clothes, taunting and degrading them as they had taken on an authoritative
role a guard had
-However, after 6 days, the experiment was stopped due to the psychological effect It had on the prisoners
-this shows that under social roles people conform as humans have the tendency to do what they think is right
Who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) and what was its aim?
Zimbardo conducted the SPE where he wanted to experiment how people conformed to social roles.
How were the volunteers treated and assigned their roles in the Stanford Prison Experiment?
The volunteers were arrested at home and taken to the mock prison in Stanford University basement where they were searched and randomly assigned to a guard or prisoner.
What was the difference between the guard’s and prisoner’s schedules in the SPE?
The guards were on shifts whilst the prisoners weren’t.
How did the prisoners initially react to the guards’ behaviour in the SPE?
At the start the prisoners conformed and were submissive due to the guards’ behaviour, such as making the prisoners clean toilet bowls with their bare hands, taking away their clothes, taunting and degrading them as they had taken on an authoritative role a guard had.
Why was the Stanford Prison Experiment stopped after 6 days?
After 6 days, the experiment was stopped due to the psychological effect it had on the prisoners.
What does the Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrate about conformity to social roles?
This shows that under social roles people conform as humans have the tendency to do what they think is right.
How does the Abu Ghraib incident support the findings of the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)?
Abu Ghraib supports the findings of SPE.”,”In Iraq, Iranian soldiers were imprisoned by the US government where they had to sit on boxes blindfolded and were dragged around on the floor like a dog.”,”This shows how the American soldiers conformed to their social roles and exerted dominance through abuse, just like in the SPE, despite their own morals. This supports the real-world application (RWA) of Zimbardo’s findings by demonstrating that situational factors can lead to similar abusive behaviour outside the lab.”
“How do ethical issues weaken the conclusions of Zimbardo’s SPE?”
Ethical issues were raised as a problem.”,”Zimbardo’s study was stopped after 6 days instead of 2 weeks due to psychological harm, despite the fact that he was following Stanford University guidelines.”,”This shows that Zimbardo had to conduct a debrief after the study but also led to improvements in research ethics. For example, when the BBC Prison Study was being conducted, Haslam had an ethical committee to minimise harm to participants, so it wouldn’t be a concern. This highlights both the ethical weaknesses of the SPE and its role in improving ethical guidelines.”
Why does the argument that conforming to roles is not automatic weaken Zimbardo’s SPE findings?”
For example, in SPE, guard behaviour differed from sadistic to ‘good’ guards. The good guards did not degrade the prisoners or treat them badly.”,”This argues that as the guards had different responses to the roles they were given and did not automatically conform as expected. Therefore, it questions the reliability of Zimbardo’s SPE results, suggesting that individual differences, not just situational factors, play a role in behaviour.”
How do demand characteristics challenge the validity of the Stanford Prison Experiment
Demand characteristics”,”Researchers found that participants would guess the role of guard as aggressive and hostile to exert authority, whilst prisoners would be submissive.”,”This suggests that participants didn’t behave the way they did because of conformity but due to demand characteristics. This questions the validity of the results, as the behaviour may have been influenced by participants’ expectations of the study rather than genuine role conformity.”
